Sir Alex Ferguson hit the headlines on Friday after a horse he part-owns called Spirit Dancer ran away with the Group Two $1m Bahrain International Trophy – beating 13 other horses that including five from Godolphin.
Spirit Dancer Comes Late To Win The Lucrative Bahrain International Trophy
Former Manchester United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson was ‘hitting the back of the net’ again despite now being retired – this time with one of the top horses he owns.
Fergie part-owns the Richard Fahey-trained SPIRIT DANCER, who was sent over to Bahrain on Friday to run in their Group Two Bahrain International Trophy – at 12:05pm UK time.
Spirit Dancer was considered by the best UK betting sites to be one of the outsiders before the race at 16/1, but the 6 year-old son of wonder horse Frankel proved those odds to be all wrong.
The Alex Ferguson horse was last seen running fifth behind Highland Avenue in the Group Three Darley Stakes at Newmarket in October – beaten 5 1/2 lengths. He, therefore, had plenty of ground to make up, with the winner also in the Bahrain race on Friday.
However, the step back up to 1m 2f (from 1m1f) and the warmer climate saw Spirit Dancer reverse that form and run away with the £500k top prize. Leading Fergie to claim the win as “The Best Ever!”
You can see the closing stages below, with Spirit Dancer coming with a well-timed late run under Irish jockey Oisin Orr, who is now based with trainer Richard Fahey.
SPIRIT DANCER 🔴⚪️
The Sir Alex Ferguson-owned Spirit Dancer produces a withering run from off the pace to land the $1m Bahrain International Trophy in stunning fashion! 🇧🇭@RichardFahey | @ged_mason | @BahrainTurfClub pic.twitter.com/dGcfgM2FF9
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) November 17, 2023
It Was A UK and Irish Bahrain International Trophy 1-2-3
Prior to this Bahrain International Trophy win, Spirit Dancer had won £242,883 in total prize money but his net worth has just been sky-rocketed by another $600,000, which equates to around £482,000.
The race had a big European presence with 12 of the 14 runners hailing from the UK, Ireland, France and Germany, with the first three home all UK or Irish trained.
Israr, for John and Thady Gosden, took the silver, but was 2 1/4 behind Spirit Dancer – with the Ryan Moore-ridden Point Lonsdale in third for Irish handler Aidan O’Brien.
Next up for Ferguson is to travel back to the UK and cheer on another of his horses – Protektorat, who is the favourite for the Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday 25th November. A race he won last year too and is priced at 6/5 by Irish UK bookmaker Paddy Power.
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