News
The Duchess of Cornwall meets the Military Wives Choir at the Royal Artillery Gold Cup
17th February 2012
The Duchess of Cornwall met the Military Wives choir and a puppet from the War Horse theatre show during a visit to Sandown Park racecourse in Surrey today.
Her Royal Highness heard the wives sing their number one hit, Wherever You Are, and met the group and service families during the tour in Esher.
The Duchess also chatted with War Horse author Michael Morpurgo and was introduced to Topthorn - one of the puppets from the stage show - which playfully stole the writer's red beret.
The Duchess then watched several races, including the Royal Artillery Gold Cup, from the Royal Box and presented trophies.
The cup is one of the oldest and most prestigious events in the racing calendar, having existed for nearly 150 years.
The inaugural event was in 1862 in Eltham. The race moved to Sandown for the first time in 1878 and has been run there every season since 1921.
The race is restricted to horses that are owned or have been leased by those who are serving, or have served, in the Royal Artillery or one of its recognised establishments or units.
The jockeys must be amateurs and they must also be past or present members of any of the Armed Services.