Queen Elizabeth II was still as ‘sharp as a tack’ just 48 hours before she passed away – and continued to enjoy her favourite pasttime, a close confidante has confirmed

The late Queen was in high spirits in the days before her death and was even able to indulge in one of her favourite passions, it has been revealed.

The monarch spoke to one of her racehorse trainers just 48 hours before her passing, and it was clear that her love for the sport was undiminished right until the very end. Clive Cox, who trained the final winner of the monarch’s career, said he had spoken to the Queen on Tuesday 6 September to discuss the prospects of her horse, Love Affairs, shortly before she accepted Boris Johnson’s resignation and appointed Liz Truss as the new Prime Minister at Balmoral.

And later that same day, she tuned in to watch her two-year-old filly convincingly at Goodwood. Cox said of his last exchange with the Queen: “Every time I have had a runner for Her Majesty I have spoken to her on the morning of the race. Those conversations have been the greatest privilege of my life but when I called on Tuesday I was told that the Queen was quite busy, which was understandable. But at 10 o’clock the phone rang and it was Her Majesty on the line.”

Cox added: “We talked about the filly, how the race might pan out, how another horse of hers was doing in my stable, and about a couple of other things. She was sharp as a tack.” The trainer was responsible for several of the Queen’s 50 racehorses, including Love Affairs, who became the final winner of her long career as a racehorse owner.

Following her death, Willie Carson, who was one of many jockeys who raced for the Queen, told the Racing Post the sport has lost its biggest ambassador. “Winning a race obviously gave her great pleasure, but her biggest pleasure was the horse. She loved the horse and loved the turf and we have just lost somebody who can never be replaced,’ he said.

And John Warren, her racing adviser, previously said: ‘If the Queen wasn’t the Queen, she would have made a wonderful trainer. She has such an affinity with her horses and is so perceptive.” Warren took over his role from his father-in-law, Lord Carnarvon, following his death in 2001, and was famously pictured sitting next to the Queen when Estimate stormed to an historic Gold Cup win at Royal Ascot in 2013.

He was also a trusted and close friend of Her Majesty and spent his last day with her on the Monday before she died at Balmoral. Warren, who was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, told the Sun: “We sat there for hours over the weekend strategising and making plans going forward.

“And the nicest thing for me is to know she was surrounded by her family members. She was in such a healthy state of mind and in tremendous form. It’s very important to know that she was absolutely, wonderfully switched on. “On the Tuesday evening she was in really good form, delighted she had had a winner and talked about the Prime Ministers coming in and out. I can hardly believe it possible that within less than 48 hours the Queen had died.”