Sir Alex Ferguson’s Cheltenham Festival-winning horse empire

Sir Alex Ferguson, a lifelong racing fan, jumped briefly for joy at Cheltenham but tempered his celebrations, having broken a rib after celebrating other notable wins in recent months.

Last month, Ferguson said he was “living the dream” after his star horse Spirit Dancer – who he bred himself – secured the Neom Turf Cup at the Saudi Cup, netting £945,000 in Riyadh.

It was the second significant windfall in a matter of months after Ferguson and his co-owners Ged Mason and Peter Done secured £500,000 in Bahrain in November, when he first hurt the rib during one overly exuberant embrace.

For the 82-year-old who lost his wife last autumn, the sport appears to have provided welcome comfort. He has had plenty of success with racehorses in the past. He won a Classic and countless prestigious Group Ones with Rock of Gibraltar, a champion on the Flat in the early 2000’s. There was also the dual King George winner Clan Des Obeaux.

”Even when I go back to my time at United, it was a period in which I needed something outside the game,” Ferguson told Telegraph Sport on Thursday. “I started reading a lot and then I started to buy a horse and then I got two horses, then three horses, but then my wife says ‘you’ll buy them all’. It was a real sidetrack away from football. It was really important.”

Rock of Gibraltar, who died from heart failure at the age of 23, at times arguably proved an unwelcome distraction while he was at United. The racehorse was named the European Horse of the Year in 2002 and was the first horse to claim seven consecutive Group 1 wins in the Northern Hemisphere. 

This earned his owners £1.2 million in prize money, two of which were Sir Alex Ferguson and Susan Magnier, the wife of former United shareholder John Magnier.

But the horse would eventually be the centre of a tug-of-war that many fans believe ended up being the catalyst to the Glazer family’s much-maligned takeover.

Ferguson believed that he owned some of the horse’s breeding rights, and the horse was in high demand because of its pedigree and winning record. 

However, the rights wholly belonged to Magnier and his partner J.P. McManus, who were both shareholders in the club and the co-owners of Coolmore, the world’s biggest breeding operation for racehorses.

That saga appeared long forgotten at Cheltenham on Thursday, however, with Ferguson now enjoying an even more lucrative era in racing. At the same time as his bumper Saudi win, Kaid du Berlais also romped home at Kempton 4,000 miles away.

John Hales, the Teletubbies entrepreneur who co-owns Cheltenham winners with Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson toasted his long-awaited Cheltenham success alongside toy manufacturer and fellow octogenarian John Hales, described by the peerless football manager as “the master”.

“He chooses the horses and we back him all the way,” says Ferguson of Hales, who made his fortune selling Teletubbies, Thomas the Tank Engine and Basil Brush soft toys. Launched in 1978, Golden Bear became a giant in the toy world, allowing Hales to dip his toe into the world of racehorse ownership.

In the mid-1990s, Hales’ first runner was Toyman, who fell and died in his first race, but his famous yellow and red markings have since adorned jockeys on some hugely successful horses. One Man won 20 races including the 1998 Champion Chase under Brian Harding, a King George in 1995 and 1996, Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury in 1994, and Peterborough Chase and two Charlie Hall Chases. 

Azertyuipop won another Champion Chase in 2004, plus a Haldon Gold Cup in the same year. Protektorat, trained by Dan Skelton and also owned by Ferguson, Ged Mason and Lisa Hales and Politilogue are among recent stars in his ranks.

His company also produced mascots for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, and in the same year, launched a range of Minis that could be driven by pre-school children.