King Charles and Queen Camilla in tears as they celebrate Royal Ascot win while Frankie Dettori wins Gold Cup
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Like mother, like son: King Charles exhibits his passion for racing at Royal Ascot as his horse Desert Hero wins
While some will remember the late Queen for her style, her quiet humour or for the way she reigned over 70 years, others will remember Her Majesty for her passion for horse racing where she was often spotted cheering on her thoroughbreds from the various Royal stands.
This memory will live on today as her eldest son King Charles was snapped in tears after his horse Desert Hero was victorious in the King George V stakes, marking his first Royal Ascot winner as monarch.
Much like Queen Elizabeth’s 24 Royal Ascot winners, Charles’ Desert Hero and jockey Tom Marquand donned the royal silks as they faced an 18-1 shot at winning.
Desert Hero’s trainer William Haggas said: “The King and Queen are absolutely thrilled. It is obviously very important for racing, but it is important that the king and queen enjoy it, which they clearly appear to do, and long may that continue.”
King Charles has shown up to every day of Royal Ascot thus far in honour of his mother and was on hand to present the prestigious Gold Cup to legendary jockey Frankie Dettori as he won the Thursday afternoon race.
The Gold Cup victory on Courage Mon Ami not only marks Frankie Dettori’s 79th win at Royal Ascot but also marks one of his last races before he retires at the end of the season.
As he received the trophy from King Charles and Queen Camilla, the Italian jockey gave a cheeky kiss to Her Majesty before performing his signature jump.
At the start of the Royal Ascot meet, Frankie rode the Royal horse Saga in the Wolferton Stakes but was handed a nine-race ban for careless riding.