Herbert Jones (jockey) on 26 May, Jones rode Minoru to victory at odds of 7/2 in a field of fifteen. This was the first time a horse owned by a British reigning monarch had won the Derby. The victory for the "Royal" colt provoked "the wildest scenes of enthusiasm ever known in England", including a mass rendition of the National Anthem as the King led his horse to the winner's enclosure. In 1913, Jones rode Anmer, the King's Horse, in the Epsom Derby. He was involved in a collision with Emily Davison, the suffragette, who was fatally injured. Jones suffered significant injuries himself,
1985 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes Ela-Mana-Mou had also been ridden to victory by Willie Carson. The race attracted a field of twelve runners, seven trained in the United Kingdom, two in France, two in Ireland and one in Japan. The favourite was the Henry Cecil-trained Oh So Sharp, a three-year-old filly owned by the Sheikh Mohammed who had won the 1000 Guineas and Epsom Oaks. The Irish challengers were Law Society who had finished second in the Epsom Derby before winning the Irish Derby, and Princess Pati the winner of the 1984 Irish Oaks. France was represented by the former Australian Horse of the Year