One Risky Call Changed Everything: Inside Mike Tindall’s Horse Racing Gamble That Left the Racing World Reeling

Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall are spending time with Prince Harry‘s “best friend” Nacho Figueras and his wife, Delfina Blaquier, at an equestrian festival in Australia.

On Jan. 13, Princess Anne‘s professional equestrian daughter and her retired rugby player husband hung out with the Duke of Sussex’s dear friends Nacho and Delfina at the Magic Millions Barrier Draw on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

Zara, 44, Mike, 47, Nacho, 48, and Delfina, 45, are all ambassadors for the Magic Millions, a two-week equestrian extravaganza of horse racing, yearling sales and competitions in polo and showjumping in a carnival-style environment.

Nacho and Delfina are equestrians like Zara, and polo player Nacho is nicknamed the “David Beckham of the polo world.” On Tuesday, he, Delfina and Zara saddled up to ride in the TAB Magic Millions Barrier Draw, galloping down the beach before Kurrawa Surf Club.

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Cameras captured Zara and Mike sharing a tender moment when she reached to touch his face.

The couple, married since 2011, share children Mia, 11, Lena, 7, and Lucas, 4, and don’t shy from showing PDA.

The annual Magic Millions carnival has brought the Tindalls, Nacho and Delfina together many times over the years, and both couples are longtime ambassadors for the event.

Another shot showed Delfina and former England rugby captain Mike sharing a close chat, and the Daily Mail reported that the couples were seen in “deep conversation” at the festival on Saturday.

In a lighthearted interview before the Barrier Draw race, Mike joked that he wouldn’t be backing anyone but Zara.

“I’ll always back my wife because it hurts less if I do, so…” he quipped when asked who he would be rooting for.

“She’s very competitive, but I know Billy [Slater] wants to win, and I know Nacho [Figueras] wants to win it once. So I’m going to stick with my wife because it’s safest,” he said.

Zara and Mike seemed to have an easy rapport with Nacho and Delfina, who are friends with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Nacho and Delfina appeared in the couple’s 2024 docuseries Polo on Netflix, and Delfina also appeared in season 1 of the Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle show With Love, Meghan on the streamer, where they baked focaccia together and went on a hike.

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Argentinian polo star Nacho and Prince Harry, 41, recently rode on competing teams at the St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship in Aspen, Colorado in December 2025.

The Duke of Sussex’s appearance there was not announced in advance and a spokesperson confirmed that Prince Harry was standing in for a friend.

“He was there to play polo with his best friend Nacho,” a source told Page Six. “No titles, just fun.”