'My philosophy is simple - I enjoy breeding a horse faster than other people's'

I suppose I first became interested in racing during the war, when my father had leased Big Game and Sun Chariot from the National Stud. My father took me down to Beckhampton [in 1942] to see them working, which I'd never seen before, and I was able to pat them in the stable afterwards. I had never felt the satiny softness of a thoroughbred before. It's a wonderful feeling.
The Queen on how her interest in racing began

Hypericum [Highclere's dam] was a typical daughter of Hyperion, some of whose fillies were absolute devils. Hypericum [bred and owned by her father George VI] charged the tapes before the 1,000 Guineas and disappeared into the car park. I was there as a very young girl and it was a source of terrible excitement. She was caught and brought back, and of course, the extraordinary thing was, she then won.
The Queen on one of her formative visits to the races

Were it not for my Archbishop of Canterbury I should be off in my plane to Longchamp every Sunday.
Her Majesty, tongue firmly in cheek, articulates her love of the sport

I think this is one of the most interesting aspects of breeding horses. You learn their character, their temperament. You see exactly how they move and how they are going to go on.
On having her yearlings broken in at Windsor in the 1970s

My philosophy about racing is simple. I enjoy breeding a horse that is faster than other people's. I enjoy going racing but basically I love horses.
The Queen outlines her priorities

A thoroughbred epitomises a really good horse to me. My particular hope for the future, like all breeders of horses, is to breed the winner of the Derby.
The Queen on her greatest ambition

It's one of the few places I go that doesn't smell of fresh paint.
The Queen in conversation with Richard Hannon snr on visiting him at his home

I don't normally buy yearlings except to get a new family. I once went to Doncaster sales with [racing manager] Charles Moore and Lord Porchester and I fell in love with a [yearling] filly who became the dam of Canisbay, who won the Eclipse Stakes for me.
The filly in question was Stroma, for whom the Queen paid a mere 1,150gns in 1956. In addition to producing Canisbay, Stroma became granddam of Dunfermline, who won the Oaks and St Leger for Her Majesty in the Silver Jubilee year of 1977. In that year the monarch was the leading owner in Britain

It was very exciting to have a horse so soon as an owner to run in the Derby but Aureole ruined his chance in the parade. And one shouldn't really be sad not to win because Sir Gordon [Richards] had won his Derby at last.
Aureole represented the monarch in the Derby just four days after her Coronation

Aureole was always an independent and frankly naughty character. He was often loose at Newmarket when he was in training, which is why I think it didn't disturb him when he got loose at Ascot before he won the King George.
The Queen reflects on Aureole, who won the Ascot race named after her parents in 1954

If you did but know it, that is how a fit racehorse should look!
The Queen admonishes the Duke of Edinburgh after he said her horses looked too thin on a visit to Ian Balding's stable

He is too far back.
The Queen laments Carlton House's position with five furlongs left to run in the 2011 Derby, in which he finished third as the 5-2 favourite

My racing manager [Lord Carnarvon] and I have argued how important the breeding and the influence of the past is. We have had a lot of fun out of it. And now, having put him in charge, we have even more arguments and even more fun.
The Queen on her verbal jousts with her racing manager, Lord Carnarvon

For once I don't remember much about the race, owing to the excitement, but I do know that a homebred Guineas winner has given me more pleasure than anything for a long time.
The Queen writes to Joe Mercer after the jockey brought Highclere home a winner of the 1,000 Guineas in 1974

Come in, my warriors.
The Queen greets trainer Dick Hern and jockey Joe Mercer at Windsor for a spontaneous celebration dinner on the day Highclere won the Prix de Diane

My government will continue to reform the National Health Service by giving more choice to patients and more freedom to National Hunt – National Health – Service staff . . .
A Freudian slip from Her Majesty as she delivered the Queen's Speech in the House of Lords in 2003

Look, it's on the wrong leg. No wonder it can't corner.
The Queen demonstrates her understanding of horses in conversation with her former stud manager Sir Michael Oswald at the races