In May 2011, The Queen came to Ireland. During her stay she indulged her love of horses with a visit the Irish National Stud.

1. 4 Friday, May 20, 2011 racingpost.com/mobile
THE QUEEN IN IRELAND
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Festival stars
greet a special
guest as Arkle
glory relived
Pupils who are
part of racing’s
future on show
ALL aspects of the Racing
A c a d e m y a n d C e n t r e o f
Education (Race) were examined
by the Queen yesterday as part
of an introduction to several
of the racing industry’s highly
regarded education pro-
grammes, writes Jessica Lamb.
John Osborne, chief executive
of the Irish National Stud,
promised before the British
monarch’s visit that a quarter
of the people she would meet
and learn about would be young
people trying to build a future
in racing.
Introducing Race’s pupils
was graduate Johnny Murtagh
and the school’s director Keith
Rowe. Four students met the
Queen and showed her a
demonstration of how they use
a mechanical horse, called a
simulator, to practise their
race-riding position, whip use
and finishing drives.
Murtagh said: “The Queen
asked me about the speed of
the simulator and I said that’s
how fast Carlton House will be
coming around Tattenham
Corner in the Derby.
“I also told her that I think it
will be her year, that she will win
the Derby. This visit, her first to
Ireland, is special and it could
be that the rest of the year is
special for her too.”
Rowe added: “She was very
interested in all aspects of the
nine-and-a-half-month course
particularly because there is
an ex-student of ours called
Kieran O’Neill in Richard
Hannon’s yard who rode
Countermarch to win in her
colours at Wolverhampton in
March and she knew all about
him.
“I was quite impressed. I read
somewhere that she reads the
Racing Post over her breakfast
and in our brief discussion you’d
support that. She knows her
stuff.”
The students left early to
prepare for a 35km overnight
hike to gain their Gaisce Awards,
the personal achievement prizes
that are the Irish equivalent of
Britain’s Duke of Edinburgh
Awards, which received praise
from Prince Philip, according to
Rowe.
Jeremy Stanley, head of the
Irish Farriery School, introduced
two students who made shoes
while the Queen watched and
Michael O’Hagan, chief execu-
tive of Irish Thoroughbred
Marketing, presented the
students of the Irish National
Stud’s stud management course.
Horse Racing Ireland chief
executive Brian Kavanagh said:
“This was a day when the
industry’s best side shone
outward. I saw it from the lawn
and I saw the pictures from RTE
on the screen and I’m sure the
images going around the world
today will be of Ireland’s
excellence in the horse world.
It was a very good day.”
By Jessica Lamb
THE Queen yesterday met with
the seven trainers who gave
Ireland a record haul of 13 winners
at this year’s Cheltenham Festival
and relived the life and times of
the legendary Arkle with those
who knew him best during a
historic visit to the Irish National
Stud in Kildare.
On the third day of her first
state visit to Ireland, the British
m o n a r c h w a s g i v e n t h e
opportunity to speak with many
racing people, all of whom
described her as “relaxed” and
declared May 19 as a great day
for the sport.
Jessica Harrington, who saddled
Bostons Angel to RSA Chase
success, guided the Queen down
the line, introducing each trainer
and supplying details of their
Cheltenham exploits.
Champion trainer Willie Mullins,
who saddled four winners at
Cheltenham, commented on
her style and knowledge and
added he had recently learned
about her heritage via Florida
Pearl.
“When I dug out Florida Pearl’s
winner’s rug from when he won
the King George, I realised it was
the King George VI Chase,” he
said.
“Luckily there are men with
more knowledge than me on her
lineage and I now know he was
Queen Elizabeth’s father. We
certainly had a talk about that.”
Trainer Mouse Morris kept
matters down to earth with a
Mickey Mouse tie, while Gordon
Elliott greeted her as he would any
friend with his customary “how’s
it going, how you doing?”.
Arthur Moore was reminded
of Klairon Davis’s 1996 Queen
Mother Champion Chase win and
told the Queen of his pinhooking
of Special Cargo, her mother’s
favourite horse.
Ian Ferguson, who trained
Zemsky to win the Christie’s
Foxhunter Chase, was another
i m p re s s e d b y h e r r a c i n g
knowledge, saying: “She seemed
to be well clued up and thoroughly
enjoyed the day. We certainly did
too.”
Henry de Bromhead described
her as “charming”, adding: “She
seemed to really enjoy talking to
every one of us and she had an
even greater chat with the Arkle
people.”
Trainer Jim Dreaper, son of
Tom, the trainer of Arkle, intro-
duced a small group ingrained
within the story of the phenomenal
triple Gold Cup winner, including
Willie Robinson, rider of Arkle’s
rival Mill House.
He said: “I met her two years
ago at Cheltenham and she
remembered me and knew so
much about us and Mill House and
Arkle.”
Near-neighbour Michael Halford,
who scored his first Group 1 win
with Casamento in last year’s
Racing Post Trophy, and Charlie
Swan craned their necks to
watch the Queen view the
stallions, while Kevin Prender-
gast, bidding for Abu Dhabi 2,000
Guineas success with Dunboyne
Express tomorrow, was also in
the crowd.
Clockwise (from left): John Osborne, chief executive of the
Irish National Stud, looks on as his daughter Emma
presents the Queen with flowers yesterday; the Queen
steps away after unveiling a sculpture of Sea The Stars by
artist Anthony Scott; Johnny Murtagh and the Queen
watch Sophie Ralston give a riding demonstration

2. Racing Post Friday, May 20, 2011 5
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Natural and relaxed in
a familiar environment
By Jessica Lamb
APPLAUSE rang out not once but
three times at the Irish National
Stud yesterday as the Queen was
treated to a showcase of Ireland’s
horse industry on the third day
of her first visit to the country.
In less than one hour the world
was shown, through the vast
media coverage, the inextricable
link between British and Irish
racing as the Queen and Prince
Philip went from trainer to trainer,
horse to horse and on to the
many racing personalities as if
they were all long-term friends.
It was her first visit to Ireland, but
not to this world.
Simon Coveney, minister for
agriculture, food and marine,
described the day as her “down
time”.
He added: “The first two days
of her visit were emotive and
about reconciliation. She has
gone about her business in an
extraordinary and generous way,
but the second half of her trip
is, I hope, a more relaxed one as
she will be on comfortable ground
surrounded by horses and people,
racing people, many of whom
she already knows well.”
Having been introduced to
the stud’s chief executive John
Osborne, TDs Dr James Reilly
and Shane McEntee by Coveney,
the Queen was led up the green
carpet to the army equitation
school quartet, acting as a guard
of honour, and on to meet students
from the Racing Academy and
Centre of Education.
After speaking with jockey
Johnny Murtagh, she watched
students demonstrate the use of
the simulator and engaged with
them before moving on to meet
members of the Irish Farriery
School.
Young farriers showed her shoes
they had made before her arrival
and continued to bang away as
she turned her attention to perhaps
the most special equine guests,
2001 King George VI Chase winner
Florida Pearl and 1993 Melbourne
Cup hero Vintage Crop.
For their 19 and 24 years, they
looked as if hard work had taken
its toll, though they were bright-
eyed and buoyed by the occasion.
Much like the Queen, who belied
her 85 years with incredibly
detailed recollections of Arkle as
she examined his skeleton in the
window of the horse museum
and spoke with people associated
with him and his arch-rival Mill
House.
Lady Chryss O’Reilly, chair of
the stud’s board, said: “She’s very
natural and so knowledgeable
about horses. I guided her, telling
her what she was going to see and
she already knew about every
person. And her memory was
amazing.
“She remembered all the names
of the people connected with the
Arkle story and she remembered
who the owner of Ballymacoll
Stud was then. She knew the
manager now, Peter Reynolds,
too, but admitted she didn’t know
that Arkle was bred there.”
Jessica Harrington introduced
her to other Cheltenham Festival-
winning trainers, Willie Mullins,
Gordon Elliott, Paul Nolan, Henry
de Bromhead and Mouse Morris,
before Osborne escorted her to the
stallion boxes.
He enjoyed an almost private
talk with the British monarch
and described the experience as
“excellent”.
He added: “She was so natural,
so relaxed. Somebody asked me
‘how did you feel when you met
her?’ I’d been having so many
reservations beforehand, but
from the minute we met I was
relaxed too. She’s such easy
company.”
With the veterans earlier the
Queen had been sweet, but the
horsewoman inside shone through
during the stallion parade when
she did not flinch as the occasion
got to eight-year-old Jeremy and
he reared only feet away from
her.
A few stepped back, Prince
Philip included, but the Queen
remained still and smiled as she
examined Invincible Spirit and
Amadeus Wolf too before moving
down to the lower lawn to unveil
a sculpture celebrating Sea The
Stars.
Having applauded her arrival,
the intimate crowd, which included
Irish racing’s finest, applauded
her down to the sculpture and
again as she left following a brief
speech by O’Reilly in which she
thanked her for her visit and
added: “You will always be
welcome here. Best of luck with
Carlton House in the Derby.”
As the motorcade sped away,
the question on everybody’s lips
was: “will she return with Carlton
House for the Irish Derby next
month?”
The occasion gets to Jeremy but the Queen keeps calm as he plays up in front of her