Michael Owen on his love for racing, growing a successful stable and targeting glory in Bahrain

Michael Owen’s eyes are glinting in the early morning sun at the Bahrain Equestrian and Horseracing Club as he reflects on his good fortune in life.

After becoming one of the great England forwards of all time and the winner of the Ballon d’Or at only 21 during a glittering career, Owen has gone on to write a very successful second chapter as the owner of a top-class racing stables in Cheshire in England where he has 140 horses in training.

“I just feel really lucky that I've been able to have two genuine passions in my life, football and racing,” says the 46-year-old, who won 89 caps for England, scoring 40 goals.

“I wanted to be a footballer all my life. And I managed to do that and that's given me a real leg up in terms of the next stage. What I've done at Manor House Stables isn't so special if you've got a massive passion for it and you're willing to risk and invest.

“I do count my lucky stars that I've had, as I say, two huge passions in my life and every single day I wake up excited to do what I'm about to do that day. So that's a lovely thing to have and obviously, you know, I'm never going to kick a ball again. So, the only thing I can do now is try to grow Manor House.”

Owen is in Bahrain ahead of Friday’s International Trophy, a race this year which has been elevated to Group One status this year, and which carries a purse of $1.5 million.

Two horses from his yard, where Hugo Palmer is the trainer, are in the race which has attracted a strong field from across the world.

Glacius, ridden by England’s champion jockey Billy Loughnane, won the Saratoga Derby in August and is the leading fancy.

The second is Seagull’s Eleven – a horse owned by current and former players at Brighton football club who are riding high in second place in the Premier League. Their captain Lewis Dunk is flying in to watch the race.

Owen was instrumental in establishing the syndicate. “We do it all the time. That's one of my main roles at Manor House, to get the owners in and get people enjoying the game and piecing it all together and selling the dream.

“It all started really with the Brighton guys, with James Milner. He was at Liverpool and he had a lot of success with a couple of horses that we trained on his behalf and then he obviously left Liverpool and went to Brighton and spread the word for us and subsequently Brighton lads have had, I don't know, six or seven horses with us but obviously Seagulls Eleven is lovely and the best of them.”

Show caption: Oisin Murphy guided Seagulls Eleven, left, to victory at Eps…

Having someone of Owen’s stature selling the dream has attracted many big names in sport and beyond.

“We're training for Liverpool players like Lewis Koumas, as well as the Brighton players; we're training for the world snooker champion, we're training for the world darts champion, we're training for a whole host of people. That’s sort of my role and what I feel I'm quite good at; that enthusiasm and getting people into the sport. Business is going particularly well.”

Palmer who has trained for Owen for four years has seen at first hand what horse racing means to Owen. “Michael says that there's no feeling he has ever experienced [like] the ecstasy of scoring a goal, but winning a horse race comes very close,” he explains.

Owen and Palmer have enjoyed considerable success in the Bahrain Turf Series run over the winter, but it is the first time for both in the International Trophy. “We as a stable are regular visitors to the kingdom but these are our first runners in the big one,” says Palmer.

“Bahrain is a fabulous place. Bahrain is to Dubai, for example, as Edinburgh is to London. Both major metropolitan capital cities. I think there's a real charm to Bahrain. I feel the same about Edinburgh compared to London, so I love coming here.”

So how does he gauge his horses’ chances? “Seagull’s Eleven has drawn the inside gate, which on paper is good for a horse that likes to go forward and race in his own space,” he said. “But, if he misses it, he'll be done!

“So, it's quite high pressure. James Doyle is a first-class pilot. The horse has shipped in great form. And we'll see how we get on.

Bahrain is a fabulous place. I think there's a real charm. I feel the same about Edinburgh compared to London, so I love coming here

Hugo Palmer

“The syndicate has had three horses which have all won. Seagull’s Eleven is the last of them. He’s by far and away the most successful of them. He means a lot to me because he's the son of Galileo Gold who won my first Classic the 2,000 Guineas in 2016.

“Galileo Gold was a bit of a mentalist and Seagull’s Eleven is a bit of a handful as well. He's danced a lot of dances. This is the fourth continent that he's raced on. He's raced in Australia, raced in California, obviously at home.

“He's the winner in England and in France. He's had a good year this year, winning twice, won a listed race in Paris and a Group 3 at Epsom on Derby weekend. And he's earned his place here. He probably needs to find a new level of form to win, but there's excellent prize money down to fifth.

“Glacius is probably drawn exactly where we want to be. He can just be ridden a little bit more in a circumspect manner. So, we're in good shape with both.

“He's a lightly raced, unexposed, improving three-year-old Colt. He needs to take his form to a level that he has yet to do, in order to win, but we believe that there's every chance that he can. As a group one winner, he's one of the better horses in the field on paper.”