Racing ambition of Dame Judi
As the Oscar-winning actress reveals she will have a runner in this year’s Grand National, we track her love of the turf
IT ALL began at a lunch date resulting from City bigwig Andy Stewart’s winning bid at a charity auction. His prize? A meal with Dame Judi Dench. And so it was that the Oscar-winning actress found herself, to her delight, sharing a table with a businessman who is also a top racehorse owner.
Stewart had his eye on a unique prize and by the time the meal had concluded Dame Judi had made an impulsive decision.
She agreed to buy a significant share in As De Mee, a four-yearold bay gelding described as “a big, strong chasing type who goes very nicely”, which was due to make his debut in February 2014.
Four years on and Dame Judi’s faith in Stewart has paid off: the promising French racehorse has turned out to be a star.
As De Mee has already registered an impressive five wins in the UK and now Dame Judi and her co-owner have entered him in this year’s Grand National.
The actress, the racehorse and the famous steeplechase at Aintree are an irresistible combination. But this is not the first foray into racehorse ownership by the seven-time Oscar nominee, who fell in love with the sport of kings in France when she was a little girl.
“I had a French sister-in-law whose family had a racing stable in Chantilly,” she told the Aintree racecourse website. “And I went over there with my family and they were racing in Chantilly and we went along.
“There was a horse named after my cat and it came in and I’ve never quite known what it won because I was quite little. But it probably paid for our holiday. I used to ride a lot too so after that I’ve always had a huge love of racing.”
SHE shares her childhood passion with Stewart, who was a 15-year-old school dropout when he hitchhiked for two days from his Essex home to Merseyside to see the 1967 Grand National.
“Dame Judi Dench is not a frequent visitor to racecourses but she has enjoyed a great deal more success than the majority of owners,” says one racing pundit, referring to “great allrounder” Smokey Oakey, which she co-owned with her friend, racing adviser and driver Bryan Agar.
The Mark Tompkins-trained Smokey Oakey won seven of his 55 races and £166,335 in prize money, his most memorable victory being the 2008 Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster. She has also owned two other horses, Zenarinda and Peeps.
Today Smokey Oakey is enjoying a second career in Lingfield, Surrey, with Riding For The Disabled, the charity of which Dame
HORSE-MAD CELEBRITIES
Former England captain Wayne bought a number of horses from Owen, including two called Switcharooney and Pippy. He wanted to rename them Hoof Hearted and Norfolk Enchants but the Jockey Club blocked the changes as they would have sounded rude when read out quickly. However, in 2012 Yourartisonfire gave Rooney a taste of victory at Haydock. Judi, 83, is patron. She is also principal patron of the British Thoroughbred Retraining Centre, dedicated to the rehoming of ex-racehorses.
She says she does wonder whether her obsession has left her 19-year-old wannabe pop star grandson Sammy – son of LIZ HURLEY The actress turned beachwear designer got involved in racehorse ownership after meeting Highclere Thoroughbred Racing supremo Harry Herbert at a party in 2009. She sold her horse Memory to the Queen for breeding purposes in 2011.
Funnily enough Hugh Bonneville, star of Downton Abbey – which was filmed at RUDE BOY: Rooney at the races with jockey Richard Kinscote her daughter Finty – somewhat ill-equipped for real life. “My fear is that I have only taught him how to put money on a horse and to open a bottle of champagne properly,” she once explained, adding that whenever she sees her horses race, nerves get the better of her. Of Smokey Oakey’s Highclere – became a part owner of some horses there. SIR ALEX FERGUSON The legendary former manager of Manchester United is most famous in racing circles for his legal dispute with United shareholder John Magnier over the ownership of a spectacularly successful racehorse, Rock Of Gibraltar. Ferguson sued for £110million but eventually settled for just £2.5million. He was also once part-owner of a nag called Hairdryer – named after his volcanic dressing-room rages. RONNIE WOOD The Rolling Stones guitarist has bred and raced a number of horses in Ireland, including Sandymount Earl which won three times in three months at The Curragh, home of the Irish Derby. racing days she once said: “I like it when he wins but the bit I like best is when I know he’s safe, having some hay at Newmarket.”
When As De Mee lines up at the start of the most notorious steeplechase of them all on April 14, Dame Judi is going to be very nervous indeed.