King Charles and Queen Camila enjoy their first Royal Ascot winner with Desert Hero
Britain's Queen Camilla (L) and Britain's King Charles III (R) cheer on their horse, Desert Hero to victory in the King George V Handicap on the third day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting in Ascot, west of London, on June 22, 2023.
Trainer, William Haggas, was on Cloud Ninety-nine as Desert Hero triumphed in the King George V Stakes, for King Charles and Queen Camila.
Apart from the final year of her reign and behind-closed-doors meetings during Corona, Queen Elizabeth II was ever-present at Royal Ascot, and hugely excited when Estimate won the Gold Cup in 2013.
Her royal patronage of the sport has now been passed to King Charles and Queen Camilla, whose presence was truly admired by the massive crowd jostling to see them. Such an honour for William, as you can imagine. The King and Queen were seen close to tears after the magnitude of Desert Hero.
They were joined by the Princess Royal and her daughter Zara Tindall. Desert Hero, sent off at 18-1, pounced late with Tom Marquand, denying Valiant King by a chin. Tom offered these words: "To be a part of that for William and Maureen, plus their whole team at Somerville Lodge, is an insanely special moment to top for the rest of my days in racing. Desert Hero was extremely brave. He had the heart of a lion to battle it out in the last half-furlong after squeezing through such a tight gap. What a legend."
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Class was oozing out of every part of Tahiyra (Chris Hayes 8-11), as she took the Coronation Stakes as more than a Tornado. The Aga Khan's filly had a rough start, then, towards the wire, she drifted into Remarquee, resulting in a Stewards' enquiry. Dermot Weld was not concerned.
Tahiyra was simply too good fort for the Stewards to alter their placings. No one would have countenanced defeat. This was a silky performance on by far the quickest surface she has encountered. Asked the invidious question of where she would like to see Tahiyra race next, Princesse Zahra Aga Khan answered: “As a breeder, it doesn't matter, as long as she can retire happily, healthy and sound."
A head away in third was Sounds Of Heaven, which left Jessica Harrington similarly delighted. “That was a huge effort for a lovely filly going forward. It was only her fourth outing, with a mere 1.4 lengths separating the score."
