Sir Alex set to fly in for highlight of racing season

FOOTBALL, racing and politics will mingle at the highest level at Ayr today when Sir Alex Ferguson’s horse Harry The Viking starts the Coral Scottish Grand National as favourite.

Watching from the stands will be First Minister Alex Salmond, a long-term racing fan. Racecourse sources say there is no formal plan for the two men to meet, but Ferguson is a lifelong Labour supporter and has been mooted as a possible leading figure in the pro-Union campaign in the independence referendum.

Ayr racecourse has confirmed the Manchester United manager and his fellow millionaire owners of the horse, Peter Done, Ged Mason and Ron Wood, will arrive by helicopter from their homes in Cheshire around noon.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Harry the Viking will carry Ferguson’s red colours. They were worn by the record-breaking Flat horse, Rock of Gibraltar, which won seven Group 1 races in succession in 2001-02 and whose stud rights caused a row between Ferguson and Irish stud owner John Magnier that was eventually settled out of court.

The horse has been the subject of a steady stream of bets. The race at 3:25pm is Scotland’s richest, worth more than £100,000 to the winner.

With 25 runners declared and conditions described as “perfect for jumping” by the course executive, Ayr hopes to avoid the horse deaths which marred last week’s Aintree Grand National.