'It just didn't go our way' - how Carlton House narrowly failed in the Derby
The Queen's love affair with the Derby stretches right back to her coronation year in 1953, when she attended Epsom just four days after the succession to watch her first runner contest what at the time was undoubtedly the most prestigious Flat race in the world.
The presence of Aureole, bred by the Queen's late father King George VI, meant the race attracted a huge crowd. Aureole was strongly fancied but finished second, beaten four lengths by Pinza, who gave 25-time champion jockey Sir Gordon Richards his first win in the Derby.
Aureole returned to Epsom the following year to triumph in the Coronation Cup, Her Majesty’s first major victory at the course.
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