IN THE SPORT OF KINGS HE WAS THE NEXT BIG THING TOO
THAI billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who scaled the Premier League heights with Leicester City, was also an emerging power in horse racing.
Racing under the banner of King Power Racing Co Ltd, the name of the duty-free empire which gave him his fortune, the 60-year-old made a massive investment in Flat racing.
Srivaddhanaprabha’s colours – the blue and white of Leicester City – were in winning action on Saturday, when Happy Power scored at Doncaster and Morando dead-heated with Young Rascal for Newbury’s Group 3 St Simon Stakes.
Many King Power Racing runners – such as Come On Leicester, Well Done Fox, and Fox Vardy – reflected his association with the 2015-16 Premier League champions.
Expressing the shock felt within the sport, Leicester racecourse chairman Nick Lees said yesterday: “He will be very sadly missed, within Leicester and by us at the racecourse. We are racing on Monday and will make an appropriate tribute.”
Since having his first runners at the start of 2017, Srivaddhanaprabha enjoyed approaching 50 victories from a team of 60 horses, spread among 17 trainers.
Srivaddhanaprabha, who spent an estimated £25million on bloodstock in the past two years, enjoyed most success with the Andrew Balding-trained Beat The Bank, who won six times for King Power.
His biggest buy was the £2.5million King Power, a daughter of the mighty Frankel, who made a promising debut when fifth at Newbury on Saturday.
Srivaddhanaprabha’s Bye Bye Hong Kong was withdrawn from the Group 1 Criterium International at Chantilly yesterday, while Hero Hero and Twin Star, who were declared to run at Leicester this afternoon, will not take part.
No decision has yet been made on King Power Racing’s future.