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On a special Palace Confidential episode celebrating all things Royal Ascot, host Rebecca English speaks to five-time champion jockey Willie Carson OBE about his many successful years riding for Queen Elizabeth II.
Carson, 83, was appointed first jockey at the stables of Major Dick Hern in 1977, who trained the Queen's racehorses for over two decades.
Carson's relationship with the royal colours proved enormously successful, winning the Oaks and the St Leger on the Queen's beloved horse Dunfermline during her Silver Jubilee year. The Queen herself would award Carson with an OBE in 1983 for services to racing.
Speaking on behalf of Horse.Bet, the veteran jockey revealed that the Queen treated her horses like her 'babies', constantly phoning trainers to understand the psychology of each animal.
On a special Palace Confidential episode celebrating all things Royal Ascot , host Rebecca English speaks to five-time champion jockey Willie Carson
Carson was appointed first jockey at the stables of Major Dick Hern in 1977, who trained the Queen's racehorses for over two decades
Carson recalled his final meeting with the monarch at Ascot in October 2021, shortly after the Queen had been inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame.
He said: 'There's a famous photograph of me and the Queen, where she's got the Royal blue coat on.
'She had begged me to come over and have a word with her after being inducted into the Hall of Fame for horse racing.
'The Queen told me that the medal was very heavy. I said: 'Yes mam, you have got to be old or dead to get one of those.'
'You can see in the photograph, she's got her mouth wide open, smiling… that was the last time I ever spoke with her.'
Despite being one of the most decorated jockeys of all time, Carson admitted the Queen often knew more about the horses he was set to ride than he did himself.
Having bred many of them, she would advise him on how to tackle challenging traits inherited through their bloodline.
'I remember talking to her about some filly that was doing some quirky thing', Carson recalled. 'She said to me: 'Oh her grandmother did the same!'
'She knew all about the ins and outs of a horse, she would spend time with them at the stud. She got to know them, she would go out in the paddock and stroke them.
Carson's relationship with the royal colours proved enormously successful, winning the Oaks and the St Leger on the Queen's beloved horse Dunfermline during her Silver Jubilee year
Carson recalled his final meeting with the monarch at Ascot in October 2021, shortly after the Queen had been inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame
'They were her babies. She was always ringing up the trainers to find out what the characters were like.
'The Queen was interested in the actual animal, not just how fast it went.'
The Queen's colours recorded more than 1,800 winners during her reign, which spanned over seven decades.
Carson said that despite the fierce competition in the sport, everyone was always overjoyed to see the monarch win a race.
'Everybody was always very, very happy when she had a winner', Carson said.
'Nobody ever said: 'Oh, not her again.' Everybody was always hats off. It was a thing, the racing industry loved to see her win.'
Watch the full interview with Willie Carson now on the Palace Confidential YouTube channel.
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