1 week Ago By Emma Kemp
Bella Nipotina won The Everest, but the real roughie was King Charles. Would he or wouldn’t he? The odds were always high on the sovereign appearing “discreetly” (per reports) at a venue crammed with 50,000 people. But then, who ever got rich backing a sure thing? Official plans had placed Charles and Camilla at a Sydney harbourside mansion, seeing out a rest day after the long trip from Great Britain.
Official photos confirmed they had awoken on Saturday morning and taken a sunny stroll at Admiralty House. Bella Nipotina (right) holds off Giga Kick (left) in The Everest. Credit: Getty Images The great big question was whether this meticulously curated whirlwind five-day tour would include a last-minute alteration to battle the Sydney traffic all the way to the racecourse on Saturday afternoon.
Peter V’landys was cautiously optimistic of a “cameo”. The Racing NSW chief executive knew “that he does want to come”, and his team had bought the requisite box of avocados just in case his majesty required lunch. In reality, a first royal visit to Royal Randwick since February 1992 – when his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, granted the then-named Australian Jockey Club her approval to call this flagship course Royal Randwick – was never a rational possibility.
Officials on the ground said such a high-profile appearance would be unheard of without weeks and possibly months of preparatory security sweeps, and that these had not been undertaken. Still, though, the speculation had built up enough steam throughout the week that we were left wondering. Would he pop in for half an avocado and the main event, The Everest? Or would he save the cameo for the day’s other group 1 race and namesake, the King Charles III Stakes? “He’ll wait until his race,” a young man predicted through a cloud of his own vape smoke.
Two women near the mounting yard were a bit more “yeah, nah” as they sipped from plastic champagne flutes, and an older fella holding a copy of the form guide empathised that Charles might be feeling fatigued given he is 75 years old, has cancer and landed in the country less than 24 hours ago. Nowhere near Royal Randwick, Queen Camilla and King Charles take a walk around the grounds of Admiralty House on Saturday. Credit: Nine News “There was one guy,” said the woman selling Everest merch.
“He said he was here for the King.” On the whole, however, the tone among the turnout of 49,117 was one of indifference. A modern, trackside republican debate argued through juiced-up nonchalance rather than strong feelings about the monarchy one way or the other.
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