Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is set to attend the Cheltenham Festival this week as a horse owner. The Scotsman, who has won 50 trophies in his career, including 38 with Manchester United, is a big fan of horse racing and now part-owns a number of horses. He has three horses running at the Cheltenham Festival this year, including Protektorat, his biggest hope for the Gold Cup, the biggest and most famous race of the event. If Protektorat wins, Sir Alex and his co-owners will bank over £600,000.
Hermes Allen, another of Sir Alex’s horses, is unbeaten in his last three races and starts as the second favourite at 11/4 in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle on Wednesday. If Hermes Allen wins, Sir Alex and his co-owners will take home £75,965. Hitman, the third horse owned by Sir Alex, is an outsider at 25/1 in the Ryanair Chase on Thursday. However, if Hitman pulls off a shock win, Sir Alex will walk away with £211,013.
Despite the potential for a successful week at Cheltenham, Sir Alex’s love for horse racing goes beyond financial gain. Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke revealed that Sir Alex takes Cheltenham very seriously and gets excited about it. Yorke said that horse racing is a sport close to Sir Alex’s heart and that he always had his phone with him during races.
The Cheltenham Festival is the biggest jump racing event of the year and attracts thousands of fans from around the world. TalkSPORT will be covering the festival and fans can listen on DAB, download the app or visit talkSPORT.com to keep up with all the action.
For those looking to bet on the festival, talkSPORT is offering a special promotion where new customers can get £25 for Cheltenham when they bet 5 x £5. The offer is available to customers who opt in via the app and bet on Cheltenham from 13:00 UK time on 10 March until 13:30 UK time on 17 March. Card payments only. T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly.