THE Derby may not always live up to its billing as the premier Flat racing classic, but the 1953 iteration certainly did. A memorable day on the Epsom Downs almost provided a winner for the newly crowned Elizabeth II with Aureole, only four days after the coronation.
The young Queen’s chief racing enthusiasm was for the Flat (unlike the Queen Mother, who largely owned steeplechasers) and her special interest lay in Thoroughbred bloodlines; she wanted to breed a Derby winner. Aureole, however, was bred by her father, George VI, by the 1933 Derby winner Hyperion, and she’d inherited the colt on his death in 1952. Aureole raced only twice as a two year old and began his three-year-old campaign with an encouraging fifth in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. When he followed up with a win in the Lingfield Derby Trial, he was, for a time, ante-post favourite for the big race.
However, Aureole had a flighty temperament. As the Queen stood in the paddock beside the towering figure of the royal trainer Cecil Boyd-Rochfort on that hot, sunny day in early June, the flashy chestnut with a long white blaze was displaying signs of agitation. By the time the flag went up, he’d drifted to 9-1 in the betting, third in the market behind the 5-1 joint-favourites Pinza and Premonition.
Denne historien er fra May 31, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 31, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
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The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
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FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
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In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
