Queen Elizabeth II Visits Ireland | The Equine Episode

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4 Friday, May 20, 2011 racingpost.com/mobile Racing Post F

THE QUEEN IN IRELAND

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Festival starsgreet a specialguest as Arkleglory relived

Pupils who arepart of racing’sfuture on showALL aspects of the RacingA c a d e m y a n d C e n t re o fEducation (Race) were examinedby the Queen yesterday as partof an introduction to severalof the racing industry’s highlyregarded educat ion pro-grammes, writes Jessica Lamb.

John Osborne, chief executiveof the Irish National Stud,promised before the Britishmonarch’s visit that a quarterof the people she would meetand learn about would be youngpeople trying to build a futurein racing.

Introducing Race’s pupilswas graduate Johnny Murtaghand the school’s director KeithRowe. Four students met theQueen and showed her ademonstration of how they usea mechanical horse, called asimulator, to practise their race-riding position, whip useand finishing drives.

Murtagh said: “The Queenasked me about the speed ofthe simulator and I said that’show fast Carlton House will becoming around Tattenham

Corner in the Derby. “I also told her that I think it

will be her year, that she will winthe Derby. This visit, her first toIreland, is special and it couldbe that the rest of the year isspecial for her too.”

Rowe added: “She was veryinterested in all aspects of thenine-and-a-half-month courseparticularly because there isan ex-student of ours calledKieran O’Neill in RichardHannon’s yard who rodeCountermarch to win in hercolours at Wolverhampton in March and she knew all abouthim.

“I was quite impressed. I readsomewhere that she reads theRacing Post over her breakfastand in our brief discussion you’dsupport that. She knows herstuff.”

The students left early toprepare for a 35km overnighthike to gain their Gaisce Awards,the personal achievement prizesthat are the Irish equivalent ofBritain’s Duke of EdinburghAwards, which received praise

from Prince Philip, according toRowe.

Jeremy Stanley, head of theIrish Farriery School, introducedtwo students who made shoeswhile the Queen watched andMichael O’Hagan, chief execu-tive of Irish ThoroughbredMarketing, presented thestudents of the Irish NationalStud’s stud management course.

Horse Racing Ireland chiefexecutive Brian Kavanagh said:“This was a day when theindustry’s best side shoneoutward. I saw it from the lawnand I saw the pictures from RTEon the screen and I’m sure theimages going around the worldtoday will be of Ireland’sexcellence in the horse world.It was a very good day.”

By Jessica Lamb

THE Queen yesterday met withthe seven trainers who gaveIreland a record haul of 13 winnersat this year’s Cheltenham Festivaland relived the life and times ofthe legendary Arkle with thosewho knew him best during ahistoric visit to the Irish NationalStud in Kildare.

On the third day of her firststate visit to Ireland, the Britishm o n a r c h w a s g i v e n t h eopportunity to speak with manyracing people, all of whomdescribed her as “relaxed” anddeclared May 19 as a great dayfor the sport.

Jessica Harrington, who saddledBostons Angel to RSA Chasesuccess, guided the Queen downthe line, introducing each trainerand supplying details of theirCheltenham exploits.

Champion trainer Willie Mullins,who saddled four winners atCheltenham, commented onher style and knowledge andadded he had recently learnedabout her heritage via FloridaPearl.

“When I dug out Florida Pearl’swinner’s rug from when he wonthe King George, I realised it wasthe King George VI Chase,” hesaid.

“Luckily there are men withmore knowledge than me on herlineage and I now know he wasQueen Elizabeth’s father. We

certainly had a talk about that.”Trainer Mouse Morris kept

matters down to earth with aMickey Mouse tie, while GordonElliott greeted her as he would anyfriend with his customary “how’sit going, how you doing?”.

Arthur Moore was remindedof Klairon Davis’s 1996 QueenMother Champion Chase win andtold the Queen of his pinhooking

of Special Cargo, her mother’sfavourite horse.

Ian Ferguson, who trainedZemsky to win the Christie’sFoxhunter Chase, was anotheri m p re s s e d b y h e r r a c i n gknowledge, saying: “She seemedto be well clued up and thoroughlyenjoyed the day. We certainly didtoo.”

Henry de Bromhead describedher as “charming”, adding: “Sheseemed to really enjoy talking toevery one of us and she had aneven greater chat with the Arklepeople.”

Trainer Jim Dreaper, son ofTom, the trainer of Arkle, intro-duced a small group ingrainedwithin the story of the phenomenaltriple Gold Cup winner, includingWillie Robinson, rider of Arkle’srival Mill House.

He said: “I met her two yearsago at Cheltenham and sheremembered me and knew somuch about us and Mill House andArkle.”

Near-neighbour Michael Halford,who scored his first Group 1 winwith Casamento in last year’sRacing Post Trophy, and CharlieSwan craned their necks towatch the Queen view thestallions, while Kevin Prender-gast, bidding for Abu Dhabi 2,000Guineas success with DunboyneExpress tomorrow, was also inthe crowd.

Clockwise (from left): John Osborne, chief executive of theIrish National Stud, looks on as his daughter Emmapresents the Queen with flowers yesterday; the Queensteps away after unveiling a sculpture of Sea The Stars byartist Anthony Scott; Johnny Murtagh and the Queenwatch Sophie Ralston give a riding demonstration

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Natural and relaxed ina familiar environment

By Jessica Lamb

APPLAUSE rang out not once butthree times at the Irish NationalStud yesterday as the Queen wastreated to a showcase of Ireland’shorse industry on the third dayof her first visit to the country.

In less than one hour the worldwas shown, through the vastmedia coverage, the inextricablelink between British and Irishracing as the Queen and PrincePhilip went from trainer to trainer,horse to horse and on to themany racing personalities as ifthey were all long-term friends.It was her first visit to Ireland, butnot to this world.

Simon Coveney, minister foragriculture, food and marine,described the day as her “downtime”.

He added: “The first two daysof her visit were emotive andabout reconciliation. She hasgone about her business in anextraordinary and generous way,but the second half of her tripis, I hope, a more relaxed one asshe will be on comfortable groundsurrounded by horses and people,racing people, many of whomshe already knows well.”

Having been introduced tothe stud’s chief executive JohnOsborne, TDs Dr James Reillyand Shane McEntee by Coveney,the Queen was led up the greencarpet to the army equitationschool quartet, acting as a guardof honour, and on to meet studentsfrom the Racing Academy andCentre of Education.

After speaking with jockeyJohnny Murtagh, she watchedstudents demonstrate the use ofthe simulator and engaged withthem before moving on to meetmembers of the Irish FarrierySchool.

Young farriers showed her shoesthey had made before her arrivaland continued to bang away asshe turned her attention to perhapsthe most special equine guests,2001 King George VI Chase winnerFlorida Pearl and 1993 MelbourneCup hero Vintage Crop.

For their 19 and 24 years, theylooked as if hard work had takenits toll, though they were bright-

eyed and buoyed by the occasion.Much like the Queen, who beliedher 85 years with incrediblydetailed recollections of Arkle asshe examined his skeleton in thewindow of the horse museumand spoke with people associatedwith him and his arch-rival MillHouse.

Lady Chryss O’Reilly, chair ofthe stud’s board, said: “She’s verynatural and so knowledgeableabout horses. I guided her, tellingher what she was going to see andshe already knew about everyperson. And her memory wasamazing.

“She remembered all the namesof the people connected with theArkle story and she rememberedwho the owner of BallymacollStud was then. She knew themanager now, Peter Reynolds,too, but admitted she didn’t knowthat Arkle was bred there.”

Jessica Harrington introducedher to other Cheltenham Festival-winning trainers, Willie Mullins,Gordon Elliott, Paul Nolan, Henryde Bromhead and Mouse Morris,before Osborne escorted her to thestallion boxes.

He enjoyed an almost privatetalk with the British monarchand described the experience as“excellent”.

He added: “She was so natural,so relaxed. Somebody asked me‘how did you feel when you mether?’ I’d been having so manyreservations beforehand, butfrom the minute we met I wasrelaxed too. She’s such easycompany.”

With the veterans earlier theQueen had been sweet, but thehorsewoman inside shone throughduring the stallion parade whenshe did not flinch as the occasiongot to eight-year-old Jeremy and

he reared only feet away fromher.

A few stepped back, PrincePhilip included, but the Queenremained still and smiled as sheexamined Invincible Spirit andAmadeus Wolf too before movingdown to the lower lawn to unveila sculpture celebrating Sea TheStars.

Having applauded her arrival,the intimate crowd, which includedIrish racing’s finest, applaudedher down to the sculpture andagain as she left following a briefspeech by O’Reilly in which shethanked her for her visit andadded: “You will always bewelcome here. Best of luck withCarlton House in the Derby.”

As the motorcade sped away,the question on everybody’s lipswas: “will she return with CarltonHouse for the Irish Derby nextmonth?”

The occasion gets to Jeremy but the Queen keeps calm as he plays up in front of her