Dubai DF's fond memories of Her Majesty The Queen
2017 DDF Spring Trials Weekend - From left to right: Salah Tahlak, Joint Chief Operating Officer, DDF, Her Majesty The Queen and Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, DDF
Dubai Duty Free says a long-standing association with the sport of horseracing has provided the retailer with many privileged opportunities to engage with Queen Elizabeth II, who died September 8.
Most notably through DDF's support of the Spring Trials Weekend staged annually at Newbury Racecourse in April which The Queen regularly attended in a private capacity.
Recalling his many meetings with Her Majesty, Colm McLoughlin Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Dubai Duty Free said, “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, she was an exceptional monarch and over seven decades put her duties above everything else.
“Myself and my wife Breeda were honoured to have met Her Majesty on a number of occasions, at the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials Weekend and we were also guests at a dinner at Windsor Castle to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Ascot Racecourse in 2011, while the following year I had the opportunity, along with my colleagues Salah and Sinead, to present her with a bronze sculpture of the Darley Arabian on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee.
“When you met her, she had a remarkable ability to put you completely at ease and she asked you relevant questions. Her passion for horses was very evident when she was at Newbury and we were delighted when she had a winner in 2017, she could not contain her excitement at that.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and to the nation.”
The Queen enjoyed a great many winners at the Berkshire course including when her homebred Call To Mind, trained by William Haggas and ridden by Ryan Moore, won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Maiden Stakes on 22 April, 2017.
