The Queen was in “tremendous form” just a few days before she died and discussing “her love for her horses right to the very end”, according to her trusted bloodstock and racing advisor. John Warren features in one of the most repeated TV clips of the past week, when the Queen clapped her hands and beamed as her horse Estimate claimed victory in Royal Ascot’s Gold Cup in 2013.
It was the first time in the race’s 207-year history that it had been won by a reigning monarch. Mr Warren said he spent the weekend before the Queen died in Scotland, discussing her horses, as they had done so many times before.
“We sat there for hours over the weekend strategising and making plans going forward," he told the PA news agency. “And I think the nicest thing for me is to know that she was surrounded by her family members.
