Earlier this year, Buckingham Palace announced that The Queen will be attending the Epsom Derby in 2022 to watch the 243rd running of world’s most prestigious race.
But, The Queen will be hoping that she will not only be there merely as a spectator, but an owner, with one of her two-year-old horses showing early potential to become a Derby horse.
Reach For The Moon, a bay colt, won the Group 3 Solario Stakes at Sandown Park on Saturday by four lengths in impressive style.
Despite racing keenly throughout, Reach For The Moon was given a good ride under jockey Frankie Dettori, winning the prestigious race easily.
Described by the racecourse commentator as a “star of the future”, the future possibilities are endless for Her Majesty’s colt.
The Solario Stakes is well known for attracting top quality horses, with the winners often going off to have very impressive careers, many running in the Epsom Derby.
The most recent horse to win both the Solario Stakes and the Epsom Derby was Masar in 2018.
Reach For The Moon also holds entries for both the Champagne Stakes and the Dewhurst Stakes later this year – races which always produce strong Classics contenders.
The Derby is the one major race that The Queen has not managed to win, and be in no doubt, it is the race she would most like to win.
In her long racing career, The Queen’s horses have finished second, third and fifth in the race, with the top prize just eluding her.
Will 2022 be the year The Queen finally wins the Derby? It would certainly be a fairytale story and the dream is very much alive.
