Side Glance and Barbers Shop lead parade at Ascot

Two horses owned by the Queen and a couple of Royal Ascot winners will be among eight ex-racehorses parading at Ascot on Saturday.

Joining the Queen’s Barbers Shop and Quadrille in the Retraining of Racehorses parade, sponsored by the Peter O’Sullevan Trust, are Britannia Handicap winners Ransom Note and Pentecost, along with globetrotting Group 1 winner Side Glance.

The parade, which will take place in the paddock an hour before the first race, showcases the range of careers available for horses when they are retrained after retiring from racing.

Under the care of Katie Jerram, Barbers Shop, third in the 2009 King George VI Chase at Kempton, has become one of the leading former racehorses competing in showing classes, while 2010 Hampton Court Stakes runner-up Quadrille has excelled in dressage since he joined Louise Robson.

The Queen meets her former runner Barbers Shop at the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting ArtCredit: Mark Westley

Pentecost won the Britannia in 2002 and has since been eventing, team chasing and hunting, while 2010 Britannia winner Ransom Note is building a career in dressage.

RoR chief executive Di Arbuthnot said: “We would like to thank the Peter O’Sullevan Trust for their sponsorship of the parades in 2017. It’s really important to show both racegoers and the racing industry the range of career options open to former racehorses.”