Horse racing enthusiasts will have their eyes glued to the Cheltenham Festival this week, some at the expense of work - a sentiment Premier League legend Alan Shearer can relate to. The 54-year-old has owned a couple of horses in his time, and once experienced a memorable win at Prestbury Park in 2005 when his horse triumphed as a 50-1 outsider.
Unfortunately, Shearer missed the occasion due to the small matter of Newcastle United's FA Cup fourth-round match against Coventry City. The former striker did, however, make sneaky arrangements to find out the race result amidst his football duties.
Speaking to Betfair, Shearer revealed how he made plans with friends in a box at St James' Park to communicate the outcome of the race through hand signals and gestures: "I once had a winner at Cheltenham, not at the Festival, but Trials Day, which was a 50/1 shot," he said. "Unfortunately, I was actually playing that day at St James's Park.
"We had a horse called Akilak and the other owners, my mates, had gone down to watch the horse and half of my other mates were in my box during the game. Before the game, because I knew the race was going to happen during the first half, I said: 'When I look up when walking off at half-time, I need you to give me a clue as to whether it's won or not'.
"I was walking off at half-time, looking at all of my pals in the box and they were all going absolutely berserk, with their arms up in the air. I thought: 'These idiots are daft, they're winding me up'.
"But I got into the dressing room, the manager did his team talk, and then I snuck my phone into the toilet to see if I could check on the result! We won the match as well so it was one of the better days. We went out to celebrate both wins afterwards - it was a great day!"
Akilak took part in 63 races throughout his career, achieving 11 victories. Notably, he earned a third-place finish at the Triumph Hurdle shortly after his unexpected win on Trials Day in 2005, before eventually retiring from racing in 2011.
Shearer didn't take long to get back into horse ownership. In 2015, he acquired part-ownership of Augusta Kate, alongside TV stars and fellow Newcastle fanatics Ant and Dec, golf pro Lee Westwood, and businessman Graham Wylie.
"I've been to Cheltenham with Augusta Kate, at the Festival. It was amazing to go into the parade ring, with the other owners and trainers, it was brilliant," Shearer added. "It's a side you don't usually see as a punter - it was brilliant to experience."
Though the Match of the Day pundit doesn't have a horse running at this year's Festival, his name will be seen on Gold Cup day. A horse honouring the legendary goalscorer, named Shearer, is set to compete, rather fittingly, in the St James' Place Festival Hunter Chase.
"There's a special horse running on Friday, trained by Paul Nicholls, called Shearer - fantastic. I mean, Shearer, running in the St James', come on!" the Magpies icon beamed. "I want to wish everyone the best of luck for Friday. I really hope it goes well, good luck Paul, Olive, and all the connections. It's won two from two this season and hopefully, it will be three from three." The nine-year-old, set at odds of 10/1, will see Nicholls' daughter Olive in the saddle for its first-ever run at Cheltenham.
