The Queen earned a well deserved tonic on Wednesday as her horse, Tactical, won a prestigious race at Newmarket’s Craven Meeting.
Riden by Oisin Murphy and trained by Andrew Balding, Tactical is Her Majesty’s first winner since the death of Prince Philip last week.
Jockeys wore black armbands in memory of Philip during the European Free Handicap which was televised on ITV.
WINNER: A little bit of joy for The Queen.
Tactical wins for Her Majesty.
Very poignant as jockey Oisin Murphy wears a black armband in memory of Prince Philip.pic.twitter.com/HI0rNkEB2G
— Royal Central (@RoyalCentral) April 14, 2021
Winning rider Murphy said after the race: “My thoughts are with Her Majesty the Queen and all the Royal Family at this very sad time.”
Trainer Andrew Balding told ITV that Tactical’s main objective this season is to complete a race at Royal Ascot, possibly the St James’s Palace Stakes.
Mr Balding will enter discussions with The Queen and Her Majesty’s Bloodstock Manager John Warren about where the horse will race next.
Shortly after her win with Tactical, The Queen had another runner in the shape of Portfolio.
Unfortunately for the 94-year-old monarch, Portfolio could only finish in 3rd place.
In a cruel irony which would no doubt have brought a chuckle to Prince Philip, the horse that beat The Queen into 2nd place was named ‘Professional Widow’.
The Craven Meeting is a three day racing fixture which takes place annually at Newmarket Racecourse.
The feature race of the meeting takes place on Thursday – The Craven Stakes – a Group 3 flat race open to three-year-old colts and geldings.
Leading contenders for this year’s renewal include Master Of The Seas for Charlie Appleby, Sandhurst for Aidan O’Brien, and The Rosstafarian for Hugo Palmer (a horse our Editor-in-Chief Charlie Proctor co-owns with Middleham Park Racing).
