The King has said he is working on producing a runner for one of the greatest spectacles in the racing calendar – the Derby.
Charles’s comment came when he and the Queen visited the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket, the heart of the horse racing industry, after touring the nearby National Stud.
The couple went on a meet and greet with the public after more than a 1,000 people flocked to the Suffolk town’s centre and the King, who is receiving ongoing cancer treatment, spoke about his health.
Lee Harman, 54, from Bury St Edmunds, said: “I asked him how he was, and he said he was feeling a lot better now and that it was ‘just one of those things’.”
After telling Charles about his own cancer issues, Mr Harman said: “He asked me how I was and I said ‘I’m all good’, I got the all clear from cancer last year.”
Thoroughbreds owned by the late Queen won four out of the five flat racing classics – the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas, the Oaks twice and the St Leger – with only the Derby eluding her.
Now it appears the King, who took on Elizabeth II’s stable of horses with his wife, is aiming to have a thoroughbred ready.
As he toured the Jockey Club Rooms, a retreat for members and the public, he chatted to his racing manager John Warren, Jockey Club staff and members, and some of the chairs of racecourses run by the club, which include Newmarket, Epsom, Aintree and Cheltenham.
Brian Finch, chairman of Epsom Downs Racecourse, home to the world-famous Derby, said after speaking to the King: “We were talking about him getting a Derby runner and he said ‘we’re working on it’.
“Everybody is hoping the royal family will have a Derby winner soon.”
Earlier when the royal couple met well-wishers in Newmarket town centre, Charles was questioned by a member of the anti-monarchy group Republic – who was among the crowds.
In a video released by the organisation, a man can be heard asking the King: “Why does your family cost us half a billion pounds a year Charles?” – a reference to claims made in a Republic report released last year, but the King does not respond directly only saying “ah yes” and moving on.
The royal couple had begun their day by touring the National Stud, part of the Jockey Club Group, that offers stud services to the racing industry.
They were shown four resident stallions including Stradivarius, who has career earnings of more than £3.4 million and won three successive Gold Cup victories at Royal Ascot.
As they fed him mints, Camilla told Charles “keep away from their teeth”, adding: “Now he’s looking for more Polos.”
