Race Bet Winner Stretches Luck to Kiss Queen Mother

CHELTENHAM, England —  The luck of the Irish proved too much for Miceil Bailey--he celebrated a big horse race win by kissing the Queen Mother.

“Oh, you are an awful chap,” the 86-year-old mother of Queen Elizabeth said at his surprise buss on the cheek Thursday.

Bailey, 33, had just won $80,000 by backing the winner in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, one of England’s oldest horse races.

Witnesses said he approached the Queen Mother in the winners’ circle and kissed her, which she did nothing to prevent, despite attempts by racecourse officials to stop him.

Security in the enclosure has been criticized before, and track managers said they will investigate how Bailey got through the security cordon.

Bailey told the Queen Mother: “You’re a wonderful lady, ma’am, and we all love you. I hope you live to be 130.”