Senior British Horseracing Board executive, Nick Smith explained how the Royal Family celebrates Ascot. “Whilst of course it was a shame (last year) that the late Queen was not well enough to come to Royal Ascot in the final year of her reign, there were lunches at Windsor Castle and the Royal Procession took place each day with members of the Royal Family leading it, including the now King and Queen Consort on
one day and the now Prince and Princess of Wales on another.
Royal Ascot is very much a family visit, but as a private one, the exact details of who is attending each day isn’t confirmed until much nearer the time.”
From Hong Kong, Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes remembers Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth as a devoted owner who had thoroughly studied the pedigrees and the grade of races that her horses with him
were contesting.
“She was most fastidious at studying her horses that were coming to me to be trained and knew their pedigrees and, to a large degree, their capability." Trainer David Hayes
I met her through John Warren who was instrumental in establishing a relationship with the Royal Family."
“But I was always taken by the fact she would ring, sometimes late at night, to discuss the performance of a horse that day or a performance going ahead. I was so appreciative at training, not just for the Queen, but for a woman who studied the backgrounds of the horses I had in my yard,” Hayes said.
Hayes said that he remembered Queen Elizabeth visiting his father’s state of the art property in the Barossa Valley of Adelaide called Lindsay Park.
“I was a young bloke, and I must say, Dad and Mum moved me out of the way when the day arrived. But I’ll never forget it and Dad was so proud that she was taken by the facilities that we had and especially the boxes that looked out over the valley.
“Dad said at the time, ‘The Queen turned to me and said ‘do you know Colin, all your horses have a room with a view, and isn’t that marvellous’,” he said.
The Hayes family, on behalf of the Australian people, donated a filly that was called Australia Fair, as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977.