Ex-England, Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid star Michael Owen tells us about his love of Cheltenham Festival.
Owen, who founded the Michael Owen Racing Club, says he first went to the event aged 18, where he met AP McCoy. From there, he couldn’t get enough and even joked Sir Alex Ferguson only signed him at Manchester United so they could exchange tips.
| Race: | Michael Owen's Tip: | Michael's Reason: |
| Gold Cup (Friday 15th, 15:30) | Shishkin | "I think he is a bit of a superstar so in the big big race I’ve got a feeling for Shishkin.” |
“I have owned jumpers in the past but I usually go for flat racing. However, I think in the Cheltenham Gold Cup I have a sneaky feeling that Shishkin could run a massive race.
He was travelling really well and could have potentially won the King George before falling. I think he is a bit of a superstar so in the big big race I’ve got a feeling for Shishkin.”
“Probably getting taken there for the first time. I think I was about 18 and all the Liverpool team went. AP McCoy came into the box and it was the first time I’d met him.
“I think he came up before one of the last races and I always remember getting given a tip called Unsinkable Boxer, and it was the first time I'd really had a big bet. I used to have small bets but for the first time I thought if the jockey thinks so and the trainer thinks so it was just a massive tip flying around.
“So that was the first time when we went as a team and Unsinkable Boxer won so easily so that was it. Of course it’s not my game, my game is flat racing that is where my business lies, but any event that is done well is exceptionally exciting for me, especially horse racing.
“I’m looking forward to it, but in the last couple of days two of the superstars have pulled out injured so that’s a bit of a shame, but it will be a great occasion.”
“I got loads of my teammates into horse racing, and let’s fast forward to this day and I’ve got my stables training about 130 horses. We’ve got the Brighton team, about 11 of them own three horses with us.
“Six of the Liverpool team own horses with us, Sir Alex Ferguson has two horses. A group of my colleagues of ex-players and TV colleagues like Paul Scholes, Steve McManaman, Ian Wright, Owen Hargreaves and Andy Townsend to name a few.
“A lot of the Burnley team have got horses with us so there is a big passion for horses and racing. My business owns a lot of horses for them.”
“Well Kevin Keegan was my manager with England and at Newcastle of course and he owned a lot of horses with great success over the years. He had a couple of Ayr Gold Cup winners so he was really keen on it, and when you spoke to him half of the conversation would be about races.
“And Sir Alex Ferguson of course. Our passions absolutely crossed paths, I think he only signed me so he could share tips! Sir Alex calls me a lot of Saturdays and we talk about football and racing.
“As I say he has two horses at my stables so we have a lot in common, and of course he is obviously retired now and following his horses around the world and having great success so it’s great to see.
“We used to talk at Manchester United about horses and tips.”
