Six Classics for the Queen - with only the ultimate prize eluding her

The Queen owned four horses who won six Classics between them, and although the ultimate prize of the Derby eluded her, she won all the other British Classics.

She achieved that tally with Carrozza (Oaks), Pall Mall (2,000 Guineas), Highclere (1,000 Guineas and Prix de Diane) and Dunfermline (Oaks and St Leger).

Most of her early horses were bred at the Royal Studs and trained by Cecil Boyd-Rochfort, like Aureole, who in 1953 came fifth in the 2,000 Guineas, second in the Derby and third in the St Leger before developing into a champion as a four-year-old.

Aureole would have won an average Derby but the great Pinza trounced him by four lengths. He started favourite for the St Leger but the stable’s second-string, Premonition, prevailed.

The Queen enjoyed her first Classic victory in 1957 thanks to Carrozza, one of her National Stud-bred “hirelings” trained by Noel Murless.

After finishing fourth to Rose Royale in the 1,000 Guineas she carried her owner’s second colours in the Oaks, but in a desperate finish the 100-8 shot, ridden by Lester Piggott, held on by a short head from Irish-trained Silken Glider.

Carrozza was eclipsed later in the season by another royal filly, Almeria, and was not even the pick of the Oaks field, as third-placed Rose Royale proved the best filly in Europe.

The owner’s only Classic-winning colt was Pall Mall in the 2,000 Guineas of 1958, when he headed Major Portion in the Dip and beat him by half a length. He was ridden by Doug Smith and started at 20-1 because he was Boyd-Rochfort’s second-string.

As a four-year-old Pall Mall won the Lockinge Stakes for the second time, and put up the performance of his life when carrying top weight of 9st 7lb into second place in the Royal Hunt Cup, giving 20lb to the winner.

The Queen had five worthy runners in the Derby between 1954 and 1959 – Landau and two pairs of half-brothers, Atlas and Miner’s Lamp, and Doutelle and Above Suspicion – but they all ran below their best.

The supply of royal Classic prospects leased from the National Stud dried up completely when the stud discontinued its breeding operation. The last of them, Hopeful Venture, was fancied for the 1967 St Leger but the other joint-favourite, Ribocco, beat him into second place by a length and a half.

The Queen’s first Classic runner trained by Dick Hern was Charlton, fourth to Nijinsky in the 1970 St Leger, and it was Hern who guided the careers of dual Classic-winning fillies Highclere and Dunfermline.

Highclere won the 1,000 Guineas in 1974, 28 years after her granddam Hypericum had won the race for the owner-breeder’s father. Starting at 12-1, the blinkered filly was sent to the front two furlongs out by Joe Mercer and, despite swishing her tail, ran on gamely to repel the favourite, Polygamy, by a short head.

Polygamy landed the Oaks while Highclere waited for the shorter French version, the Prix de Diane, which she won going away by two lengths from Comtesse De Loir. She was not quite Britain’s champion three-year-old filly, being officially rated 1lb below Dibidale.

Dunfermline (left): the dual Classic winner was the only horse to beat the great AllegedCredit: Gerry Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Dunfermline had fortune on her side in both her Classic victories in 1977, especially in the Oaks because favourite Durtal got loose before the start and had to be withdrawn.

In the St Leger, as a 10-1 shot, she relished the searching test of stamina set by two pacemakers – her own and Alleged, the odds-on favourite who was sent to the front too soon by Lester Piggott. She challenged approaching the final furlong and Willie Carson drove her to victory by a length and a half. It was the best single performance by any of the Queen’s horses, and Dunfermline was the only horse ever to beat the great Alleged.

She was then fourth to Alleged in the Arc, and third when odds-on for the Prix Royal-Oak (French St Leger).

The Queen then had three Derby runners in four years (1978-81) but English Harbour, Highclere’s first foal Milford and Church Parade were all unplaced.

Over the years her other Classic runners included Pindari, third in the 1959 St Leger; Joking Apart, third in the 1975 1,000 Guineas; and Flight Of Fancy, her unluckiest Classic loser when second in the 2001 Oaks. Denied a clear run, she had to be switched off the rails and finished strongly, a length and a quarter behind Imagine.

Flight Of Fancy was trained by Sir Michael Stoute, as was Carlton House, who in 2011 won the Dante Stakes and started 5-2 favourite for the Derby.

He finished third, beaten only a length by the winner, Pour Moi, compared with the four-length margin by which Aureole had been beaten in 1953. So that was the closest the Queen ever came to fulfilling her ultimate racing ambition.