Heather Main to sing national anthem at Newbury

Trainer Heather Main will sing the national anthem before racing at Newbury on Saturday.

Main, who trains in Wantage near Lambourn and recently won the Old Borough Cup for the second successive season with Island Brave, is a former opera singer.

She will then revert to her day job by saddling Marshal Dan in the closing race on the card.

“It was a great honour to be asked and I was very happy to accept,” Main told the Racing TV website.

“Her Majesty had a very special relationship with our sport as a breeder, owner and patron. It just feels like there’s a huge hole in the racing community without her.

“I had runners in the same race as her on several occasions, especially at Newbury, and it was always very special standing in the parade ring being so close to her. She adored watching the horses and obviously knew so much about them.”

Main, originally from Alabama in the United States, also sings to her horses in the belief it relaxes her string.

“I’ve always sung to them. It’s not a routine or a regime, just something I do from time to time,” she said.

“The travelling involved with training can be manic, so it’s also for my own therapy.

“I’ve never sung the national anthem in public before so the horses have heard it a few times this week.”

The Queen would regularly attend the spring meeting at Newbury in a private capacity.

Doutelle winning the John Porter Stakes on April 17, 1958 provided the Queen with her very first winner at the racecourse. The same year she won the inaugural running of the Lockinge Stakes with Pall Mall. He won consecutive editions of the race and was arguably the best colt to ever carry the Queen’s colours, going on to become a very successful stallion.

Newbury chairman Dominic Burke said: “Throughout her life, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a loyal figurehead for British horseracing and we are honoured to have so many memories of her here at the racecourse.

“I can express the deep gratitude of myself and all at Newbury for her unwavering support for, and appreciation of, British racing over many decades. Our heartfelt condolences to His Majesty The King and the royal family.”