Sir Alex Ferguson reveals he broke a rib celebrating £500,000 horse racing win
SIR Alex Ferguson has revealed he broke a rib during this raucous celebration after landing a £500,000 horse racing win.
The legendary Manchester United boss was hoisted into the air courtesy of a big bear hug from good mate Ged Mason.
They were celebrating Spirit Dancer’s amazing half a million quid victory in Bahrain last November.
Sir Alex recently touched down in Saudi Arabia to see his home-bred seven-year-old go for more glory in the £1.6million Howden Turf Neom Cup on Saturday night.
But he revealed he was still feeling the effects of that memorable victory four months ago.
Asked about the celebrations, Sir Alex, 82, said: “I broke a rib!
“He (Ged) grabbed me and we’re jumping up and down. I’m going, ‘Ged! Ged! Ged!
“And, by the way, that was 100 yards from the winning line.”
At which point Mason cut in, adding: “I don’t normally celebrate that quickly until it’s over the line but I did that day because he came through like a train.”
And Sir Alex replied: “I don’t mind breaking a rib if we win!”
Spirit Dancer has already won connections more than £750,000 but victory in Saudi would see the seven-year-old smash through the £1million mark.
Interestingly, Sir Alex could have been among those battling it out to win the Saudi Cup, the world’s richest race worth a staggering £15.8m this year, on Saturday evening.
But trainer Richard Fahey reckons the Neom Cup is Spirit Dancer’s best chance of victory even if it is worth a fraction of the prize money.
Sir Alex bred Spirit Dancer – who he co-owns alongside millionaire businessmen Mason and Fred Done – with Niall McLoughlin, who runs the football icon’s Upperwood Farm Stud.
The Old Trafford hero recently broke the world-record fee paid for a National Hunt horse when spending £633,000 on Caldwell Potter at a sale in Ireland.
The ultimate dream with that horse, who has switched from Gordon Elliott to Paul Nicholls and will miss Cheltenham Festival, is to win the Gold Cup.
But there are still plenty of mega-money prizes to be won on the Flat.
Spirit Dancer is doing his best to hoover them up – with Sir Alex proving generous in rewarding stable staff when he lands a big one.
Fahey revealed: “The three lads are all going to be there to watch and they really appreciate what Spirit Dancer has achieved.
“They’re all very kind and took half the yard out for dinner after Spirit Dancer won in Bahrain.
“It’s been interesting for me to train for someone who’s been at the top of his sport.
“Sometimes he says things that I pick up, which amaze me.
“There are occasions too where Sir Alex will understand what I’m saying in the horse world that he can compare with his knowledge of football.
“He’s an extremely intelligent man and a genius in his profession, so I’m always a little bit timid of saying things too strongly – but there’s not too much I have to explain.
“He’s been in our industry for years and knows that there can be good days and bad days.
“Footballers can perform one day and not the next for no reason and horses can do the same.”
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