Elizabeth stays cool as Jeremy gives a very unroyal welcome

ALL the security and all the worry and the only one who reared up on the queen was a horse.

Jeremy was his name, a bay stallion (brown to you and me) with a bold splash of white down his magnificent face, and he lifted himself onto his hind legs and shook his silken mane inches from his royal visitor, as haughty as could be.

The press corps gasped, the sharpshooters on the stable roofs tensed up and Jeremy’s handlers sprang swiftly into horse-calming mode.

Queen Elizabeth hardly flinched. “We are not amused,” her body language said, though it was obvious her heart was all-a-flutter at the stirring display of spirit and strength.

Horses are the Queen’s weak spot. She has 20 brood mares and has sent many of them to Ireland to be covered (mated to you and me) by fine Irish stallions.

One of her best hopes is a young colt who is the progeny of the National Stud’s star performer, Invincible Sprit, who also came out of his stable to meet the little woman in blue but was a perfect gentleman.

Her husband could take lessons. Prince Philip was in mischievous form as he watched 18-year-old trainee jockey Sophie Ralston, a student at the National Stud’s racing academy, demonstrate riding skills on a horse simulator.

He looked at the dial, set to a brisk canter, glanced at Sophie who seemed too comfortable by far, and insisted on turning it up to a full gallop. “Let’s see how you get on,” he grinned.

What exactly he would have done if pint-sized Sophie had gone hurtling over the head of her mechanical mount and wound up in one of the stud’s plentiful specimen trees, no one knows, but the young future champion clung on with a cool head and a firm grip.

After a few moments the Queen turned to the Epsom Derby-winning jockey Johnny Murtagh, who was part of her group, asking him if he used something similar when training.

The Irishman replied, joking: “It wasn’t as hi-tech as that — it was a bale of straw.”

Not surprisingly, the chuckling prince was kept a safe distance from the dials on the gas forge where apprentices from the stud’s farrier school were demonstrating the art of making horseshoes.

Lunch was to be a private affair at the Aga Khan’s pad at nearby Gilltown, not a barbecue on the lawns of the National Stud. The royal couple were a relaxed pair as they were introduced to Florida Pearl and Vintage Crop, two of the country’s finest racehorses now living out their days in equine celebrity, enjoying the attention of admiring tourists.

“Florida Pearl is a great show-off,” said trainer, Willie Mullins, who used to put him through his paces.

“Every time a camera comes around, he pricks his ears. He knows how to perform.”

The Queen paid tribute to another four-legged hero, Sea The Stars, now in stud after a short but remarkable racing career. She unveiled a sculpture in his honour to loud applause from the assembled guests, including jockey, Johnny Murtagh; trainer Jessica Harrington; Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney; Minister for Health James Reilly and Minister for Food, Shane McEntee.

Lady Chryss O’Reilly, chairman of the National Stud, spoke briefly to welcome the guest of honour.

Among the guests were Trish Hyde, mother-in-law to jockeys Charlie Swan and Norman Williamson, who with her husband Tim Hyde have a stud in Cashel; and her friend Sue Purcell, wife of trainer Michael Purcell and niece of the late jockey and crime writer Dick Francis.

Both women are steeped in horses and had no doubt from checking the Queen’s jaunty gait, that she still rides, even though the word is that she is advised against it.

“I’d say she would ride a hack (a rough exercise trail to you and me) around Windsor Park,” said Sue. “I’m sure she’s still hands on,” said Trish. “She really lit up while she was here.”

Mr Coveney was also lit up, delighted at the opportunity to show off the horse racing industry that first caught the eye of a British royal back in 1532 when Henry VIII had the 9th Earl of Kildare organise a race between Irish and English “running horses”.

Which side won, the records don’t reveal, but the result of yesterday’s visit was definitely viewed by all as a winner alright.