04 May 2023 , 21:00
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Olympic Gold medallist Sam Quek will bid for glory at another sport this weekend but will miss the event because of a diary clash.
The Question of Sport team captain and presenter of the BBC ’s Morning Live is the co-owner with husband Tom Mairs and his mother Jane of Stenton Glider who will contest the £500,000 QIPCO 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday.
But she is due to host a Eurovision Song Contest event in her home town on the same day and can’t attend both.
Stenton Glider is Quek’s first foray into outright ownership. The filly was bought for £35,000 and put into training with Hugo Palmer.
“We’re all really excited – however, I’m hosting the Eurovision turquoise carpet and it’s at exactly the same time unfortunately,” said Quek, 34, who earned a team gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics as part of the Team GB women’s field hockey side.
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“If I could put myself in two places at once, that would be my magic power for the day.
“There’s a tint of disappointment on my side in terms of that, but I’m obviously very excited to be doing the Eurovision carpet.
“We’ve sat down thinking about every possibility, but logistically it just can’t be done. In 2019 The Derby at Epsom fell on the same day as the Champions League final and I’m obviously a huge Liverpool fan.
Quek is a huge racing fan (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)“I obviously wanted to watch both, so I got a helicopter to Liverpool from Epsom so I could do so – I think it’s easily the most diva-ish thing I’ve ever done! If I could do that in this instance, I absolutely would have.”
Stenton Glider is named after a famous bicycle invented by Mairs’s great grandfather and was only bought at auction because the number on the box she was standing in was the same as the date of birth of the TV host’s mother-in-law.
Mairs will represent the family at Newmarket from where he will be ready on the phone to report back to his wife.
He said: “Any tinge of disappointment on Sam’s side is massively overwhelmed on my side by rays of excitement. It’s just bonkers and the whole family are so excited, it feels like a one in a million shot.
“Obviously we’ve had some brilliant sporting days within the family and I just seem to surround myself with very successful females! It’s hugely exciting and I could never have dreamt of owning a horse who was running in a Classic with a fighting chance.”