The Queen’s runner Improvise denied close home at Epsom

PA Sport Reporters
September 8, 2022 4:00 pm

Filly just misses out in photo finish.

Improvise, the Queen’s only runner on Thursday, was beaten in a photo finish at Epsom.

On a day when the reigning monarch was kept under medical supervision at Balmoral in Scotland after doctors became concerned for her health, the Quick Ride By Quickslide Handicap held special attention at the home of the Derby.

Sent off a 3-1 chance in what was the last race on the card, the Michael Bell-trained filly appeared to have matters under control throughout in the hands of apprentice jockey Benoit De La Sayette.

A thrilling finale on a poignant afternoon.
Improvise, in the colours of Her Majesty The Queen, is pipped on the line by Mount Kosciuszko in success for @sammyhitch and @rhannonracing at @EpsomRacecourse pic.twitter.com/GynPgd6MPW
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) September 8, 2022

She went a length clear inside the final furlong and looked sure to oblige in the famous silks, but began to drift off the rail down the famous camber of the straight.

That allowed Richard Hannon’s Mount Kosciuszko and Sam Hitchcott the chance to get a run up the rail and that pair hit the front on the line, winning by a short head.