Her Ladyship saddles up for race debut at 69

The going will be soft and the outcome uncertain when racing’s most senior novice saddles up this afternoon.
Lady Halifax will participate in Macmillan's Ride of Their Lives.Lady Halifax will participate in Macmillan's Ride of Their Lives.
Lady Halifax will participate in Macmillan's Ride of Their Lives.

Camilla, Countess of Halifax, within sight of her 70th birthday, will mount the Irish four-year-old Windsor Cross for the last race of the day at York, a nine furlong romp around the Knavesmire.

The gelding has twice come home twice in 17 outings, but his owner, the Malton trainer Richard Fahey, suggested that with a jockey who had until last autumn never ridden a racehorse in training, the conventional form book would be of little help. “I thought she was bonkers,” he said.

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The Ernest Cooper Macmillan Ride of Their Lives, in which 11 amateurs aged from 18 upwards will collectively raise in excess of £125,000, is the climax of a day of charity races.

Lady Halifax will participate in Macmillan's Ride of Their Lives.Lady Halifax will participate in Macmillan's Ride of Their Lives.
Lady Halifax will participate in Macmillan's Ride of Their Lives.

“It’s all completely mad isn’t it – to wait until you’re 69-and-a-half to ride in your first race,” said Lady Halifax, whose home is a 20,000 acre estate near Garrowby, in the East Riding. “I have lots of moments wondering what on earth I’m doing.”

She has been associated for four decades with Macmillan Cancer Support, the beneficiary of the day’s racecard, and has served as its president, but had only previously seen the all-comers event from the stand.

“I’ve always thought, ‘I couldn’t do that in a million years’ – and I still actually think that,” she said.

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Acknowledging that her appearances at Mr Fahey’s Musley Bank stable might have “raised a few eyebrows”, she said: “I saw that I needed a lot of practice. Who’d want granny riding out in the string, frankly?”

She added: “I might not be very good now but I’ve definitely... I have to have improved.

“They’d tell you more than me, but I feel that I am more in control of the situation.”

She had first got on a horse as a child and rode for years with the Buccleuch Hunt in the Scottish borders, where she was raised.

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But a thoroughbred racehorse weighing close to half a ton and galloping to 35mph, was a different proposition.

“It’s not going to be a walk in the park – it’s certainly going to test her physical limits,” said her coach, Danny Hague. “The physiological demands in terms of heart rate are really high as well.”

She will be cheered on by her husband, the Earl of Halifax, who is life president at York Racecourse, and by her three children and seven grandchildren.

Punters are able to place bets on her and the other 10 entrants, though the card advises that “the absence of jockey form should moderate your stake”.

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However, Mr Fahey said he was optimistic of a happy outcome when the riders come under starter’s orders.

“I think it’s an incredible achievement if she gets there – which I think she will,” he said. “It’s just a huge effort by her and I’m really impressed by what she’s doing. She has got her confidence now.”