'I hope the King and Queen will forgive me' - Sunday Times royal editor skips Trooping of the Colour to ride winner for Jamie Osborne

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Sunday Times royal editor Roya Nikkhah made headlines of her own by giving up the day job to ride a winner at the second attempt.

Her victory on Jamie Osborne's Epictetus on Saturday came a day after it was announced that the winning trainer had been given a suspended three-month ban for taking an inappropriate photograph on a racecourse.

• 'One minute I'm in the White House watching Donald Trump and the King hang out, then I'm back here to ride out and the trainer's in a grump' 

Nikkhah was unseated before the start of the Ernest Cooper Macmillan Ride Of Their Lives race at York, which gives non-jockeys the chance to compete in front of a huge crowd while raising funds for the cancer charity.

"I didn't enjoy the start when I got binned, but I think he was just testing that I was awake," she said. "I woke up, clung on, pushed on and he was an unbelievable dream.

"We hugged the rail, I held my nerve and didn't push until the two-furlong pole and he just went. That was one of the best feelings I have ever experienced."

Nikkhah had ridden for Osborne in a similar event at Goodwood in 2023.

"I started riding out three years ago and did the Magnolia Cup," she said. "I missed the start and finished sixth out of 12. I hope I've made amends to Jamie Osborne today."

She was also seeking forgiveness from Buckingham Palace.

"I'm the royal editor of The Sunday Times and I'm not covering the Trooping the Colour today, but I hope the King and Queen will forgive me after winning the race!" she said.

Osborne has received a three-month suspended training ban after taking a photograph of a woman’s bottom at a racecourse last summer with the intention of uploading it to a WhatsApp group he was part of named ‘Great Bums’.

Women In Racing was contacted for reaction to the news and, while declining to comment specifically on the Osborne case, they pointed out they are hosting a free webinar on June 24 focused on inappropriate behaviour in the workplace and how organisations and individuals can respond effectively.

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