She left for home shortly after the race concluded.

The monarch, who became queen half a century ago when Singapore was a malaria-infested backwater, said Friday during her first visit since 1989 that she admired the Southeast Asian city-state's transformation into a "center for excellence in Asia."

Singapore and Britain "are natural partners in so many ways, and I firmly believe this will continue and strengthen in the years ahead," the queen said at a state banquet at the country's colonial-era presidential palace.

Since its independence in 1965, Singapore has transformed itself into an ultramodern Asian financial hub and high-tech manufacturing center with one of Asia's wealthiest populations.

The queen, who had earlier met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said that the two countries' strong political ties were underscored by a shared belief in fighting terrorism and curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and that both economies were increasingly linked through trade and investment.

On Friday afternoon, about 400 cheering schoolchildren waving Singaporean and British flags greeted her at Singapore's national library, where she viewed an exhibit of photos by young people and stopped to chat with student Cliff Tan, 18, whose photo showed a dragon boat race - an old tradition among Singapore's majority ethnic Chinese.

"When she saw my picture, she said, 'Dragon boats! That's still practiced here?'" Tan recounted. "She said, 'That's so dangerous, all of these boats crammed together.' She's so friendly."

During her three-day visit, the queen also toured a public housing estate, laid a wreath at a monument to those who died in World Wars I and II, and spoke briefly to veterans.

On Saturday, the monarch toured a race course and met jockeys taking part in the Queen Elizabeth II race. She presented the winning rider, owner and trainer with the cup before flying home to Britain.

Singapore was touted as an impregnable fortress of the British Empire before it fell swiftly to Japanese forces on Feb. 15, 1942 - one in a succession of territories taken by the Japanese as they swept across Asia.

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