From Christian & Geri Horner’s cringe racing business to the Rooneys’ ‘cursed’ mares… inside celeb horse racing empires
THE Grand National is the most famous horse racing event in the world and always attracts some of the biggest names in showbiz.
But some stars love racing so much they go beyond having the odd flutter, opting to buy their own horses to compete.
Former Premier League football manager Harry Redknapp has been among those at Aintree, with two of his 18 horses – Shakem Up’Arry and The Jukebox Man – both competing.
He was hoping to build on his huge wins at Cheltenham last month, in two races on yesterday’s Ladies Day, although he didn’t make the main event of the Grand National.
Ex-Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson also recently enjoyed a double win at Cheltenham, with his race horses Monmiral and Protektorat.
The footie legend pocketed £275,000 in winnings at the Festival.
They aren’t the only celebs to dip their toes into the racing world – albeit with some very mixed fortunes…
Queen Elizabeth
The late Queen Elizabeth II was probably the nation’s most famous and most prolific racing fan and owner.
And she was reportedly the most successful, said to have earned more than £8.7m in winnings over the years.
She had been a horse owner longer than she was queen, inheriting the breeding and racing stock of her late father King George VI just before her coronation in 1953.
She had four winners at Ascot in 1957, and came close to winning the Grand National as an owner just a year earlier.
Over the years the Queen’s horses won more than 550 races.
Carol Vorderman and Richard Hammond
They may be an unlikely partnership, but Carol could certainly work out the odds and Richard can calculate the speed of their racehorses.
The ex-Countdown host and former Top Gear presenter joined forces in 2019 to buy their first horse, Subway Surf.
Carol, 63, has long been a racing fan and used to horses with her Countdown partner Richard Whitely, the best-known of which was Mare of Wetwang.
Neither horse were world-beaters but that hasn’t stopped Carol and Richard Hammond from being regular fans on the racing circuit.
Liz Hurley
Actress Liz, 58, is in very esteemed company as a member of the Highclere Thoroughbred racing syndicate.
Other investors include chef Heston Blumenthal, actor Hugh Bonneville and athlete Denise Lewis.
Liz has owned shares in several different horses and even sold her horse Memory to the Queen in 2011 for breeding purposes for a reported £500,000.
Dame Judi Dench
Oscar winner Dame Judi Dench knows a thing or two about lifting a trophy – and her race horses also have no problem in bagging first place.
In an unlikely partnership of Hollywood and football, Dame Judi, 89, co-owns winner Outlaw Peter with Sir Alex Ferguson and his pals, which has brought home almost £100,000 in prize money.
Her previous horses include Smokey Oakey who had career earnings of more than £300,000 before retiring, and hurdler As De Mee who was due to run in the 2018 Grand National but was forced to pull out with a leg injury.
Mike Tindall
It will come as no surprise that former rugby star Mike is a fan of the gee-gees given he is married to Royal equestrian Zara.
Back in 2014, Mike, 45, hit the headlines after investing £12,000 for a share in a horse called Monbeg Dude.
Despite being a 40/1 outsider, the horse finished in third position in the Grand National that year, earning the couple £105,000.
He and his co-owners ploughed the money into the sport, investing in a racehorse breeding programme in Australia.
Wayne & Coleen Rooney
The couple dabbled in racing back in 2011 – but their thoroughbreds failed to deliver.
They invested £200,000 in racehorses Pippy and Switcharooney, but two years later they were retired having won just one race between them.
Filly Pippy cost Wayne, 38, and Coleen, 37, a staggering £63,000.
The horse had her first, and only, victory in August 2012 at Wolverhampton after 17 races.
But the lack of racing success doesn’t stop Coleen being a regular at Aintree each year for the Grand National and Ladies’ Day.
Geri Horner
Ginger Spice and her Formula One boss husband Christian Horner, 50, may have had their own ups and downs lately, but they are hoping their racehorses have plenty of zig-a-zig-ah.
The couple own an array of horses, who are all named with a nod to 51-year-old Geri’s solo career – Look at Mee, Lift Me Up, Mi Chico Latino and It’s Raining Men.
Lift Me Up, also known by his stable name Hector, clocked up his first win at Newbury last year and the couple’s aim is to have a winner at Cheltenham.
The couple also own a horseracing company called OMBI, which was set up in 2021, and lists the nature of its business as “activities of racehorse owners”.
Ronnie Wood
It seems like the Rolling Stone can’t get no satisfaction from owning racehorses – and he once described it as “shovelling money down a hole.”
But his beloved horse Sandymount Duke had 10 career wins, earning around £125,000 and narrowly missed out on a Grand National outing due to injury.
The rocker was said to be devastated when the horse died of a heart attack in 2019.
