A trainer saved from security by the Queen is among a trio of horse racing figure heading to her state funeral from Australia.
David Hayes prepared Her Majesty's first winner in the country six years ago, a horse named Bold Sniper.
Britain's longest-reigning monarch would often call trainers of her thoroughbreds for an update. And shortly after the success was registered in the world's sixth-largest country, the Queen wanted to know all about it.
But when Buckingham Palace dialled in, Hayes was at a football game – and he had to rush to a quiet space away from the noisy fans. Only he wasn't allowed in that part of the stadium, which left him stressing the significance of the conversation.
"This bloke came up to me and said I need to get out straight away," he told News Corp Australia.
"I'm trying to tell him to shush, saying ‘I'm on the phone to the Queen'. He looked at me thinking I'm full of s*** and kept saying I need to get out.
"So I'm there saying ‘mate this is an important call, I have to take it.'
Hayes has received an invitation to the Queen's funeral on Monday, along with fellow trainers Chris Waller and Gai Waterhouse. All three ran horses in her famous purple silks with gold braiding and scarlet sleeves, plus a black fringed cap.
Waller, whose still has Chalk Stream in his stable, is best known for his handling of the highest-earning horse Winx, who took a record 28 Group 1s.
Waterhouse most recently trained Carlton House, an unlucky third in the 2011 Derby at Epsom. It was the only one of the five British Classic races the Queen did not win as an owner.
The Australian trainers, who will be in attendance at Westminster Abbey on Monday, each spent time in her company at Royal Ascot.
The event, pencilled into the diary every year, was where she achieved one of her favourite moments in the sport. The Queen was overjoyed when Estimate got the better of her 2013 Ascot Gold Cup rivals, one of 24 victories for her as an owner at the fixture.
Waller presented her with one of Winx's shoes during a lunch there one year.
Other trainers have also spoken fondly about the phone calls they shared with the Queen, when she took a great interest in each horse. John Gosden, who provided her with 13 winners, said they would be given a slot at around 10am on the day she had a runner.
"They were always wonderful conversations because you'd talk about the horse and the race and then you'd talk about other things," he said in an interview with Sky Sports Racing.
"For us it was very thrilling to talk one-to-one on the phone like that, knowing that was a 15-minute period in her incredibly busy day that she set aside to listen to what were sometimes known as her miscreant children, the trainers.
"King Charles III and Camilla are very keen on horses and I hope that great tradition in the royal family will continue."
