Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother 1900-2002: The Racegoer - The

IN the Sport of Kings, she was undisputed Queen for more than five decades. She loved racing so much that the commentary which runs continuously in betting shops was piped into the Queen Mother's home, Clarence House. She even had a computer installed there so she could study the form. Herpatronageofsteeplechasing gave the sport a hitherto unheard-of prestige. In return, the Queen Mother won the affection of racegoers that owed nothing to her royal position. Her lasting love affair with racing began during Royal Ascot week in 1949.

Lord Mildmay of Flete, the leading amateur rider of the day, was staying at Windsor Castle with his friend Major Peter Cazalet, who trained his horses with great success at Fairlawne, a beautiful Kent country house. The charismatic Mildmay persuaded his royal hostess that it would be fun to own a jumper and let Cazalet train it. Her late private secretary and long-time friend Sir Martin Gilliat recalled: "There is no question that it was Mildmay's enthusiasm that fired the Queen Mother. I think she felt steeplechasing was a little different and something she could do quite independently." Tragically, Mildmay was just 41 when he drowned while swimming near his Devon home in 1950.

His death cost the Queen Mother her first racing manager, but did not diminish her enthusiasm for the sport.HER dearest wish was always to see one of her beloved horses win the Grand National. But not only was her dream destined never to come true, she was also fated to sufferthe cruellestbadluckin one of the most dramatic finishes of the famous race. In 1956 the Queen Mother's Devon Loch was clear of the field and 30 yards from home, when he leapt into the air, as though jumping an imaginary fence, and landed on his belly. Jockey Dick Francis, now a top- selling thriller writer, recalled: "Devon Loch was galloping fast, incredibly fresh after the long race.The cheers were coming to a buffeting climax and I was rejoicing that I was a partner in fulfilling thedreamofthe horse'sRoyalowner."

In one stride he was bounding smoothly along, a poem of controlled motion, the next his hind legs stiffened and refused to function. He fell flat on his belly, his limbs splayed out sideways and backwards at unnatural angles. "When he stood up he could hardly move. If he could have got going again he might have had a chance because we were a long way clear. But the rhythm was shattered, the dream was over and the race was lost." Typically, theQueen Mother put on a remarkable public display of fortitude after swallowing the bitterest pill for any steeplechasing owner. Her only concern was to comfort her distraught trainer and jockey, and, visiting Fairlawne to see Devon Loch a few days later, she again did her bestto alleviate the pain and grief. She sent trainer Peter Cazalet a cigarette box "as a memento of that terrible and yet glorious day". And she wrote in a letter: "I am sure that you know how deeply I feel for you.

I am beginning to learn more of the immense amount of thought and work that goes into the preparation of a horse for racing and can understand a little of the anguish you must have felt at such a cruel blow. We will not be done in by this and willjust keep on trying." Although she never came near to winning the National again, her horses had repeated success elsewhere and by the 1960s she was entering her golden era. The high point came in 1964-65 when her horses won 27 races, making her the third most successful owner of the season. Their names are well- remembered. There was Rip, who won 13 races for her. There was Laffy, victim of adopting ring in 1962, whocame back to take his Royal victories to 12.

There were the hurdlers Makaldar and Escalus, both placed in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. Then there was the mighty and aptly- named Game Spirit, who won 21 races in six seasons and was undoubtedly the Queen Mother's favourite. Because of his "charming character" she intended him to become a hack for the Queen but when his racing days were over the horse died from a massive haemorrhage. Then in 1973 Cazalet died of cancer and the Queen Mother was never to race on the same scale again.SHE ran a reduced string of horses, and her stable was transferred to the Saxon House, Lambourn, yard of Fulke Walwyn, another masterly trainer of steeplechasers. He claimed the Queen Mother's most valuable success, the 1984 Whitbread Gold Cup, with Special Cargo. Despite her reduced string in the 1980s and 1990s, the Queen Mother still remained a keen follower of the sport.

She would turn up in wellington boots at a wet and windy Lingfield or Sandown on winter days to present the prizes or just to enjoy the sport. Her devotion was marked on July 20, 2000, when a team of former jockeys joined a cast of thousands in the pageant to mark her 100th birthday. Former riders Bill Smith and David Mould led a group representing the Injured Jockeys Fund. Among them was Brough Scott, who later recalled riding back along The Mall after the ride past. "It was a truly humbling moment, echoing all those other historic parades, state visits, coronations, weddings and funerals of which the Queen Mother has been part," he said.

"And yet, in a very real way, she has also belonged to us in the racing game. She was always worth riding for." David Mould, who rode for the Queen Mother for 16 years, said: "Every time I saddled up for her I put on new britches and boots. "I felt so honoured that even if I rode six times I would put on new gear each time." He added: "I don't know anyone in the racing game who doesn't love her. She is Great Britain. She's your mum, your favourite granny - she's everything." Her enthusiasm continued well after her landmark birthday. Last March she went to Sandown to see her horse win, lending her support to the resumption of racing after a temporary suspension due to the foot and mouth crisis.

Last July she insisted on going to the Ascot race meeting to watch the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. Sadly, her failing health meant she was unable to attend this year's Cheltenham Festival. But she remained the greatest champion of the sport and its participants. As Sir Martin Gilliat said: "Her greatest consideration was always for the trainer and jockey and for the stable staff who looked after them." That, without doubt, is why they embraced her in return.

Copyright 2002 MGN LTD
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