Have horses always been a passion of yours?

I’ve always loved horses and had a number of riding lessons as a child, but my interest in thoroughbreds took off at the age of about eighteen.  I bought my first horse in 1998 (named Etienne Lady after my goal in the World Cup) and you could say things have expanded from there.

When did it become apparent that horse racing would become a business and more than just a passion for you?

My wife and I always thought we would have some business interest in horses, but the breeding side was our original plan.  Even though we do breed some of our own horses, the thrill of training them became a big attraction to me personally.  I see it as a football supporter following their team, sometimes it’s not enough to just sit and watch on a Saturday.  They want to know the food the players eat, the car’s they drive etc.  That’s me, from the moment a horse is born to the day it races, and beyond, I want to be involved every step of the way.

So how does the relationship between you and Nicky work?

I approached Nicky a few years ago when I first came up with the idea and it progressed from then.  Basically, I employ Nicky to train from my yard Manor House Stables.  The yard is open to any racehorse owner wanting us to train their thoroughbred and of course I have my handful of horses trained there too.

What is your day to day involvement with the yard?

My job is to play football, that’s what I focus my attention on.  Until I retire, this business will take a back seat to my football, but that doesn’t stop me from spending all of my spare time at the yard! I leave the day to day running of the yard to Nicky and we both value each others opinions.  In my mind, racehorses are athletes and I see comparisons in the way a horse is prepared for a race to how footballers prepare for a game.

Talking of football, have you managed to persuade any of your colleagues’ to invest in a horse?

That wasn’t hard!  I think a lot of people could be interested in owning horses but don’t know how to go about it.  Scott Parker, Craig Moore, Nicky Butt, Damien Duff, Shay Given and Stephen Carr all currently have shares in horses at Manor House Stables.  The word is spreading; we have a number of orders from other premiership players to go to the next sales with.

What are your future ambitions for Manor House Stables?

To be the best!  I don’t go into many things half hearted.  I want to continually upgrade our facilities so that the horses in our care are prepared in the best possible way to win races.