'It's a great honour' - King and Queen record first Royal Ascot winner with Desert Hero

A subtle pump of the fist from William Haggas in the packed winner's enclosure after the King George V Stakes said it all. 

This was not the most prestigious race the trainer had won, but it was now the most significant after Desert Hero stuck his neck out to provide the King and Queen with their first Royal Ascot success.

Apart from the final year of her reign and the 2020 behind-closed-doors meeting during the pandemic, Queen Elizabeth II was an ever-present at Royal Ascot and a widely circulated clip of her celebrating winning the Gold Cup with Estimate in 2013 was emblematic of her lifelong passion for horses and racing.

Her royal patronage of the sport has now been passed to King Charles and Queen Camilla, and its continued importance was not lost on the hundreds of people who rushed to the parade ring and jostled for position to catch a glimpse of the couple lifting the trophy.

"It's great for them in their first year as King and Queen," said Haggas. "It didn't matter who provided it, as long as they could have a winner. I didn't really watch the race properly – I need to watch it again at home – but he really stuck his neck out."

Haggas sent out his first and only Derby winner in 1996 (Shaamit) but has admitted it came too early in his career to fully appreciate what it meant. After watching Desert Hero just deny Qatar Racing's Valiant King in a tight finish, it is clear that will not be a problem this time. 

"We'll appreciate this one," said Haggas, who was in the royal procession before racing on Wednesday. "It's a great honour and I'm thrilled they were here to see it. It's a big moment for our team. 

"I always thought Sir Michael Stoute winning the Gold Cup with Estimate for the Queen must have been the pinnacle for him and this is a big thrill for us. We've won a few nice races, especially recently, but this is going to take some beating."

The King and Queen, who could be seen close to tears in the TV pictures of the royal box after Desert Hero's win, were joined in the winner's enclosure by the Princess Royal and her daughter Zara Tindall, granddaughter of the late Queen.

What a hero: Tom Marquand on Desert Hero (right) gives the King and Queen their first Royal Ascot winnerCredit: Alan Crowhurst

"It's bittersweet," said Tindall. "Think how proud our grandmother, the Queen, would have been. To have a winner for Charles and Camilla and keep that dream alive is incredible. It's a new excitement. The horses are the main game here, that's why we get involved and love them and the competition, the adrenaline – it's indescribable."

Desert Hero, sent off at 18-1, pounced late under a powerful ride by Tom Marquand to deny Valiant King by a head. 

"I've said it about moments before that will be hard to top, but genuinely this is it," said the jockey. "We all grew up watching Ryan Moore win on Estimate and things like that and royal winners are extremely special, especially this one as it's a poignant moment. 

"To be a part of that, and for William and Maureen and the whole team at Somerville Lodge to bring a horse into the royal meeting and to have that perfect prep, it's an insanely special day that I think will probably be at the top for the rest of my days in the saddle.

"Royal Ascot is where everyone wants to be and even more so doing it in these colours. It's quite an emotional winner.  It's a hard game breeding horses and racing horses and to have the Queen's legacy carried on is immensely special. Even the crowd, everybody appreciated the magnitude of what just happened. It's an extremely special day for everyone."

On Desert Hero's performance, Marquand added: "He was extremely brave to take the split that I asked him for because I think most horses would have told me where to stick it. He had the heart of a lion to battle it out in the last half-furlong after squeezing through such a tight gap. What a legend."

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