irreplaceable.

​It can justifiably be said that no one is irreplaceable. Yet the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth has shown those of us in the horse racing fold that extraordinary people can be irreplaceable. Her Majesty is irreplaceable.
Our sport is blessed with such people as Sheikh Mohammed and his family, J.P. McManus, the Aga Khan, and others, and before them similar wealthy and enthusiastic breeders and owners. Yet each great benefactor of the sport was replaced, even if only in time, by other generous benefactors, though whether National Hunt will ever see someone of the quality of J.P. McManus again is unlikely, one must presume.
Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth is that rare human being who, if only to our sport, will prove irreplaceable. For all of her reign she has owned and bred racehorses and as with all similar competitors in this sport she achieved great highs and suffered the lowest of lows. Horse racing is a bedevilling leveller, treating everyone in its thrall with equality, as was proved when her final runner was beaten a short head. Horse races bestows no favours, not even on royalty or prime ministers, as Winston Churchill discovered.
The Queen adored horses, ponies, equines of all disciplines, with the thoroughbred racehorse holding a special place in her heart and I would recommend Julian Muscat’s book ‘Her Majesty’s Pleasure’ for full documentation of her lifelong love affair with the horse and horse racing. She gravitated naturally towards horseman and took absolute delight in visiting the stables of those blessed to be on her roster of trainers, with everyone having a story to tell about her sense of humour and her knowledgeable interest in each of their training methods. In ‘Her Majesty’s Pleasure’ I am pretty sure someone is quoted as saying that the Queen was a frustrated racehorse trainer.
I am sure once the period of mourning has finished, the royal horses will return to the racecourse and it would be happily received if one of them won one of the remaining major races of the season, the Cambridgeshire, perhaps, with Saga. And let’s hope one of her 2-year-olds gives the impression of being a classic horse for next season to set ablaze the Queen Consort’s anticipation. The Queen may have won 4 out of the 5 classics in her time as an owner but I for one craved an Epsom Derby winner for her and was as heart-broken as she must have privately been when Carlton House was somewhat of an unlucky loser. I believe Ryan Moore’s first words to Her majesty on dismounting was an apology for costing her a Derby winner. She replied something along the lines of ‘That is racing’. Exactly the same tone as her mother took when Devon Loch did his leap into nowhere when winning the Grand National was only a few strides away.
There will never be another, not for horse racing, and Charles the third – I am having great difficulty coming to terms with having a new monarch – has a very hard act to follow. I wish him peace, good fortune and a long reign. I also wish him, if the royal horses are to run in his name, a Derby winner to complete the full set for Her Majesty’s Sandringham stud.