Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to jet off to Bahrain for £500,000 thanks to Manchester United’s latest wonder horse.
Spirit Dancer, who runs in red and white silk to match his former club’s colors, is one of the challengers for the $1 million Bahrain International Trophy on Friday.
Around $600,000 (about £500,000) will be donated to the owner’s connections, but Sir Alex will be in the driver’s seat with the star six-year-old gelding.
Spirit Dancer, trained by Richard Fahey and produced by Sir Alex himself, has already fetched £250,000.
However, if he wins Group 2, a fiercely contested race over 1m2f, he could bag one of the world’s richest prizes.
Legendary football managers and Betfred fame co-owners Ged Mason and Fred Dunn have already paid a £16,000 joining fee.
So it’s up to this horse to do the job for them on the racetrack, which will surely beat the 40-to-1 odds.
Spirit Dancer scored a hat trick over the summer and skyrocketed his ratings to a career-high 112.
Mr Fahey said Sir Alex, who recently spoke at Bobby Charlton’s funeral, was “thrilled” by the horses’ performance and planned to visit the Kingdom to see them in person.
He told Racing Post: “Sir Alex has had a lot of fun with him this year and you can see he’s getting a lot of attention.
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“To be fair to him, he’s been patient and he’s reaping the rewards of that patience.
“I’m really happy to be involved. Bahrain have been very good to us and I’m sure we can finish in the first four.”
It could be a big month for Sir Alex as he faces front-runner Protect Rat to defend his Betfair Chase crown at Haydock on November 25th.
A win there would be worth more than £112,000 and cap off a remarkable fortnight for horse racing fans.
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