Royal mint: Queen Camilla has racehorse eating out of her hand during British Racing School tour

The Queen had a retired racehorse eating out of the palm of her hand after issuing him a royal mint.

The royal treated Percy Toplis, nine, to a Polo mint during a tour of the British Racing School to mark its 40th anniversary on Thursday.

The British racing HQ, on the outskirts of Newmarket in Suffolk, was officially opened in 1983 by the King when he was the Prince of Wales.

The Queen flew to the training centre by helicopter before being chauffeured to the buildings in a dark-coloured Audi.

She realised she had forgotten her Polo mints as she stroked the nose of Percy while inside the John Pearce Barn, which accommodates 16 horses.

But Foundation Course instructor Deborah Polley, who was accompanying the Queen, produced some mints from her pocket.

Wearing a green printed dress and blue scalloped jacket, the 75-year-old royal asked Percy: "Are you a Polo donkey?"

She then "very gently" offered a mint to the horse on her hand, before smiling and saying "happy Percy".

Ms Polley said the Queen told her she "normally has a mint" because she is "obviously a great lover of horses and has that understanding".

"I then always have a Polo mint on me and gave her what was in the packet," she added.

Ms Polley said: "[The Queen] was very interested in the course.

"She was very interested that one of my students was on the Prince's Trust last March.

"She spoke to everyone in turn asking them if they were enjoying the course, what they were up to, had they fallen off, what they liked, what they didn't like.

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"She shook every student's hand, which was absolutely beautiful.

"It meant so much."

The school's flagship programme is an apprenticeship for 16-to-25-year-olds called the Foundation Course, which prepares young people for jobs as stable staff, riding and looking after the sport's racehorses.

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Some 4,000 young people have successfully completed the course and gone on to work in the industry to date - with some of the world's top jockeys and every Champion Apprentice jockey from the past 10 years among its alumni.

The Queen later watched horses being groomed and got on a mini bus to be driven alongside horses ridden down the straight gallop by students.

She also unveiled a plaque at the centre and was presented with a framed watercolour picture of two horses training.

The royal was originally due to tour the British Racing School in March but the visit was cancelled due to bad weather.