The Queen received some good news arriving back in Windsor for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
After a turbulent flight back from Balmoral, Her Majesty learned that one of her horses won a race at Newbury. Perfect Alibi took the £5,400 first prize at the time the Queen was heading into RAF Northolt from Aberdeen.
It has been reported how the 13-seater private jet had to abort its landing due to lightning around 2.30pm on Tuesday. The race, scheduled for 2.40pm, saw the filly, which the Queen also bred, hold on from River Of Stars in a close finish.
Her racing manager John Warren told the Racing Post: "It's been a really lovely month (for racing winners) and it gives the Queen so much pleasure. After 70 years of owning and breeding horses, every winner counts, no matter how big or small and that's the sign of a true owner-breeder."
The reigning monarch, marking 70 years on the throne with a series of events this week, has had four winners in the last two weeks. King's Lynn was the most high profile of them, sprinting to victory in the Group 2 Cazoo Temple Stakes at Haydock.
Handicappers Duty Bound and Discretion were also on the scoresheet, while the Queen's Royal Ascot hopeful Reach For The Moon finished second at Sandown.
The original candidate for the Derby at Epsom on Saturday, an event which is part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, was not ready for Epsom. Instead he trialled successfully for the big summer meeting, where trainers John and Thady Gosden can choose from a couple of races, teaming up with jockey Frankie Dettori.
The Queen follows the racing closely but reports suggest she will not be in attendance at the Derby, so she can meet great-granddaughter Lilibet for the first time.
Her Majesty, 96, spent several days at Scottish retreat Balmoral before taking a flight to London yesterday afternoon. It landed successfully at the second attempt as the pilot dealt with adverse weather conditions.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said last night: "The Queen's flight was delayed due to a lightning storm. All the correct procedures were followed and there were no safety concerns."
The Queen was accompanied by one of her beloved corgis as she was then chauffeured to Windsor.
The first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, the festivities begin on Thursday with Trooping the Colour. More than 1,500 officers and soldiers and 350 horses from the Household Division will be part of the display on Horse Guards Parade in central London.
There will be a traditional RAF fly-past, while a special concert is planned for Saturday over the four-day bank holiday weekend. Queen + Adam Lambert will open the BBC's televised Platinum Party at the Palace in front of a live crowd of 22,000 people.
