Sir Alex Ferguson grabs another famous treble at Grand National meeting
It was, Sir Alex Ferguson said, his “best day” at the races, which is a high bar to clear after more than two decades as an owner which have included Rock Of Gibraltar’s seven-race run in Group One races on the Flat and two victories in the King George VI Chase at Kempton
Park’s famous Boxing Day meeting.
But to be precise, it was his best half-day at the races, as Protektorat, Monmiral and Clan Des Obeaux reeled off a Grade One treble at the start of the Grand National meeting here on Thursday. Nor was there any need for a Camp Nou-style last-gasp drama to secure this Ferguson-inspired treble, as both Monmiral and Clan Des Obeaux made short work of their fields after Protektorat proved an able deputy for another runner owned by the former Manchester United manager in the opener.
Ferguson was still at the height of his powers at Old Trafford when he decided racing would be a good way to ease the pressures of management. He invested around £17,000 in a two-yearold to run on the Flat which he named
Queensland Star in honour of a ship which his father – who had a “tanner Yankee” on the horses every Saturday – had helped to build in the Govan shipyard.
Queensland Star was a winner at the first time of asking at Newmarket in April 1998 and Ferguson has since welcomed back several dozen winners in his colours, owned in a number of partnerships over the years.
The most famous – or infamous – was the association with John Magnier and the Coolmore Stud operation which ended in an acrimonious dispute – and demonstrations at racecourses by United fans – over the breeding rights to Rock Of Gibraltar, but the less cut
throat world of jumping has been a more welcoming haven in recent years.
“That’s the best day I’ve had in my time in racing, which is about 20 years or so,” Ferguson said after Clan Des Obeaux had turned the Betway Bowl into a procession, with the dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll a well-beaten fourth, and completed a 63-1 treble in his colours.
“It’s different to when I was managing my football teams. I was in control of what was going to happen on the pitch, but I’m not in control of that [on the track] as the trainer does all of that and as an owner, you hope it goes well. You do get the same excitement when you win big races like that, as it does get you very excited.”
Clan Des Obeaux missed the Cheltenham Festival to ensure he was fresh for a race in which he had twice been beaten in the past. He also worse cheekpieces for the first time, to focus his attention on the task at hand, and the tweaks to his normal routine by the trainer Paul Nicholls proved highly effective.
“It was a fresh approach with the cheekpieces on,” Ferguson said. “He had a three-month rest and we ran him right up the front and we gave him plenty of space to run in, and I think that all worked. I think he was the best horse in the race anyway.
“Horses like Native River [who finished third] had a hard Gold Cup so it was an advantage [to miss Cheltenham]. It’s great, winning is the name of the game. Winning on Merseyside, they will all be happy.”
Ferguson could yet have a fourtimer to celebrate in the home city of what were once his most bitter rivals, as Give Us A Copper, who showed promise in his novice season over fences but has struggled for peak form in recent outings, is among the 40 runners declared to run in the Grand National on Saturday. At odds as high as 80-1, however, he is a bigger price than all of Ferguson’s winners on Thursday combined.
Whatever happens on Saturday, Ferguson can look forward to a season following all three horses in the treble on Thursday at the highest level from the autumn.
Clan Des Obeaux is likely to return to Kempton Park on Boxing Day for the King George VI Chase, a race he won in both 2018 and 2019. Monmiral, an easy winner of the Anniversay 4-Y-O Hurdle, has the option of switching to fences with the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham in March 2022 as a possible aim, while Protektorat also has “a big, big future” according to his trainer, Dan Skelton.
“I didn’t expect that to happen,” Skelton said. “I said to the owners, who also had Hitman in the race, that today was a short-term plan to get a long-term result for next season.”
Protektorat was quoted at around 25-1 for the Ryanair Chase at next year’s Cheltenham Festival after the success on Thursday while Monmiral, now unbeaten in five starts, is 25-1 for the Champion Hurdle and 20-1 for the Arkle. Ferguson’s racing journey still has some way to go.