Royal approval: Queen tells Australian PM she is pleased to see racing continue

The Queen has told Australian prime minister Scott Morrison she is pleased to see horseracing continue down under, after calling him to discuss how the country is managing during the coronavirus outbreak.

Racing in Australia has continued through the coronavirus pandemic, with only a few days suspended when concerns arose that jockey Mark Zahra had contracted the virus in late March. He tested negative and the sport has continued behind closed doors, with social distancing measures in place, since.

In a post on Facebook and Instagram, Morrison said they talked about the response to the Covid-19 outbreak and the bushfire crisis which devastated parts of Australia between September and March.

The post read: "[It] was very kind to receive Her Majesty’s call this evening to check in and see how we’re all getting on in Australia.

"The Queen was very interested to hear about our progress in combatting COVID-19 and was so pleased we have managed to prevent the terrible impacts. Our recovery from the bushfires was also a key area of interest for her as well as the ongoing drought.

"Her Majesty was also pleased to hear our horse races were still running in Australia and sent her very best wishes to all Australians."

Carlton House: beaten a short-head in the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes in Australia after a successful career in BritainCredit: Edward Whitaker

The Queen had her first winner in Australia in 2016 when Bold Sniper won for David Hayes. She also owned Arabian Story, who finished sixth in the 1997 Melbourne Cup and Carlton House, narrowly denied a Group 1 victory in Australia when trained by Gai Waterhouse in 2014.

During lockdown in the UK there has been British representation in Australian racing with the William Haggas-trained Addeybb winning two top-level prizes.

Ridden by Tom Marquand, he won the Ranvet Stakes in March and Randwick's Queen Elizabeth Stakes the following month.

Read more from Australia:

Irish jockey fined by stewards for breaking Covid-19 protocols after biggest win

Royal Ascot winner Sir Isaac Newton suffers fatal injury over hurdles

In-form Hugh Bowman records remarkable 2,810-1 five-timer at Kensington

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