The monarch, 93, was snapped chatting with nine-times Derby winner Lester Piggott as she unveiled a life-size bronze statue of the retired jockey. Fans gathered outside the parade ring to watch Her Majesty pull a cloth from the sculpture. The Queen’s four-year-old gelding will run in the sixth and final race of the day – the Invested Out of the Ordinary Handicap Stakes. 

The two-day festival kicked off on Friday with Ladies’ Day and the highlight will be the world-famous flat race, the Epsom Derby at 4.30pm.

Sextant, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, is said to be in with a fair chance of winning the day’s last race at 5.15pm.

Myracing.com’s racing expert Matthew Newman told  the Daily Mail: “This year she has a real chance.

“Sextant was an impressive winner on his debut at Ascot in May and with only four career starts, he should do better still at Epsom.

“The Queen has Sir Michael Stoute as trainer, he has had five Epsom wins to his name, so she a good chance.”

The event in Epsom Down, Surrey, is one of the biggest fixtures in the flat racing calendar.

The Willie Newton statue at Epsom is the first of nine life-sized sculptures of the racing legend to be unveiled to markt the 65th anniversary of his first derby win.

The Queen, a lifelong horse lover and racing fan, was present on all nine times to watch Mr Piggott ride home to victory.

His 1975 win on Her Majesty’s horse, Carrozza. 

In a previous interview, Mr Piggott said: “The Derby has always been the most important race in England. It attracts the best thoroughbreds and it has been my good fortune to win it a few times on some great horses.”

Source: Read Full Article