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The Winner!
This five day event is the most significant in the social calendar and this year it celebrated H. M. The Queen’ s 90th birthday by renaming its premier race, The Gold Cup, in her honour and with bunting in the Grandstand. The high point for the Queen was her win on Dartmouth in the Hardwicke Stakes on the Saturday, which marked her 23rd win at Royal Ascot. She was presented with the trophy by her granddaughter Princess Beatrice which was charming. Dartmouth’ s trainer Sir Michael Stoute has now equalled the late Sir Henry Cecil’ s post-war record of 75 winners at Royal Ascot which is a highly impressive feat.
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The opening day began with a heavy downpour which ruined many picnics and the ground at the start was the softest for 45 years. Thereafter the temperatures were mild which was ideal for racegoers.
The royal procession has been a feature of this event since 1825 with bets taken on what colour hat the Queen wears for each of the five days. There was a memorable moment when the Queen, wearing a bold orange hat, cobalt blue coat and an orange and cobalt blue dress, presented the Gold Cup to the winning jockey, Ryan Moore, who was wearing similar colours, which must have been unprecedented. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made their debut at Royal Ascot on the Wednesday. The Duchess looked stunning in
And they’ re off!
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Thrilling to watch.
a white lace dress by Dolce and Gabbana and an exquisite cream Jane Taylor hat. Hopefully they will become regulars which will raise Royal Ascot’ s profile still further.
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The sculptures erected in different parts of the racecourse are annually augmented by new ones. There has usually been an equine theme, but this year several monumental abstract creations by Ellis O’ Connell seemed very out of place. There were colourful wire sculptures of |
horses in various parts of the ground. There was also a statue of the Queen’ s horse Estimate, which won the Gold Cup in 2013, and which was imaginatively sculpted in stone and stainless steel by Gilles Falisse.
The display of photographs from past royal meetings is always fascinating and some attractive images of models wearing fashionable dress were prominently displayed. The standard of the fashion was high, especially on the Tuesday, and the timely recent changes in the dress code were strictly enforced and rightly so. This event combines ceremonial, thrilling racing with an international field and an unforgettable kaleidoscope of colour. It is seductive, transporting one into an elegant past age, and is also quintessentially British with its colourful traditions and dazzling beauty.
RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS
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