It was the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother who was the major supporter of National Hunt racing within Britain's Royal Family, but King Charles III and Queen Camilla could be represented at the Cheltenham Festival with both Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Steal A March (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) under consideration for the March showcase.
Reach For The Moon, now five, won the G3 Solario S. at two as well as finishing runner-up in the G2 Champagne S., and was at one stage considered a potential Derby candidate. Last September, he moved from the stable of John and Thady Gosden to join National Hunt trainer Jamie Snowden. Though yet to race over hurdles, the gelding has been given an entry for the G1 Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle on March 12 and will be campaigned in partnership by HM The Queen and Sir Chips Keswick. He is now registered in the colours of the latter, the former chairman of Arsenal FC.
Snowden said of the 105-rated performer on the Flat, “He was obviously a very good horse for John and Thady Gosden and he was a leading contender at one stage for the 2022 Derby.
“He had a few little issues on the Flat hence the reason why he has ended up jumping with us as opposed to doing anything else. With a horse that has that kind of rating on the Flat, we have to give him an entry in the Supreme, but we will see how he takes to everything over the next month to six weeks.
“Racing is steeped in the tradition of the royal family. The Queen Mother loved it, and the late Queen was a big supporter of the sport. It is wonderful that the King and the Queen are supporting racing as much as ever before.”
He added, “We have got some nice horses for them and hopefully Reach For The Moon can fly the flag high. We are lucky to have a horse of his talent and hopefully we can do him justice.”
Reach For The Moon was bred by Queen Elizabeth II, as was Steal A March, who runs in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle series qualifier at Huntingdon on Thursday.
Trained by Nicky Henderson for the King and Queen, the 9-year-old missed last year's Festival with a setback. He recently returned at Newbury after a year off the track.
Henderson said, “Steal A March was going to the Cheltenham Festival last year, and he was all ready for it, but he had a little issue three weeks before which was real bad luck.
“He has got a run under his belt, which is a help, as he needs a huge amount of work. He is a horse that takes plenty of getting ready. The step back up in trip to three miles one (furlong) will suit him as well.
“That was the plan to have Steal A March run at the Cheltenham Festival last year so let's hope we can do it this year.”
The King's niece, Zara Tindall, shares her great-grandmother's love of jump racing and is on the committee of Cheltenham Racecourse as well as being patron of the Retraining of Racehorses charity.
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