Epsom Derby 2022 favourite Desert Crown won the race at Epsom Downs, Surrey on Saturday. The win comes on Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee weekend.

Trained by five-time Derby winner Sir Michael Stoute and ridden by Richard Kingscote, Desert Crown took the lead in the final stretch – two furlongs to go. It beat the Changingoftheguard, who took an early lead but ultimately ran out of steam.

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“When I was a kid I was useless [as a jockey] and I’ve had a lot of support from this gentleman [Michael Stoute] here. [Desert Crown has] got a huge amount of glass, we turned in going well and was so lovely. I [even] took a tug in the straight, he’s got a lot of class and gave me a lot of confidence. But it’s all about the man who trained him,” winning jockey Richard Kingscote said after the race. 

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A group of people ran onto the track before the Epsom Derby 2022, causing a delay at the start. Police officers pulled them off. There is no official word on why they were protesting. 

In a similar incident in 1913, a woman, Emily Davidson, through herself at the king’s horse.

On Saturday, just before the race started, five of Queen Elizabeth II’s former racehorses paraded along with a selection of hats. The monarch did not attend the races due to ‘episodic mobility issues’. 

Princess Anne substitued for the Queen. She was joined by daughter Zara, husband Mike Tindall and her son Peter Phillips. 

After the race, Zara said that her grandmother, the Queen, would have been watching the Derby at home in her comfy clothes’. 

“She will be watching on the TV – she has a few runners today dotted around the country, so she knows exactly what’s going on. She’ll just be sat on the sofa watching the TV. She’ll be in her comfy clothes,” she said. 

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When asked about the royal guard of honour for the 0 of the Queen’s past and present jockeys, she added,“It was amazing. It was so nice to see so many faces. It was funny seeing them trying to fit back into the colours again, all the retired ones.

The Queen’s horse, Reach For The Moon, who was amoung the favourites, had withdrawn from the race.