Ex-Man Utd owner’s son gives £250,000 Ferrari to horse racing trainer as reward
The son of a former Manchester United owner has given horse racing trainer Annabel Neasham a stunning Ferrari.
In 2001, John Magnier along with J.P. McManus became the second-biggest shareholders in Manchester United, with their stake in the club at just under 9%, before the Glazers bought their share in May 2005. Tom Magnier, the son of the 75-year-old businessman and horse racing owner, launched a bonus scheme last summer.
To be in with a chance of winning the Ferrari Roma, a horse had to be purchased and it needed to emerge victorious in one of 16 selected races. However, the only horses eligible came from the yearling crop of star stallion Justify – who have yet to taste defeat.
But Tom was placed in a tricky situation after his horse Learning To Fly triumphed in the Inglish Millennium earlier this month. Coolmore, the global racing operation Magnier Snr runs, owns the horse. Therefore, Tom, based in Australia, couldn’t award the car to himself – so he opted to present it to winning horse trainer, Neasham.
She posed with her brand new Ferrari worth £250,000. Beaming with pride, she posted the snap on twitter alongside the caption: “When you train a Justify. Thanks Coolmore. #JustifyFerrari.”
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Tom tweeted ‘the Ferrari is gone’ after Learning To Fly’s victory in the Listed race – worth £671,186 to the horse’s owners. Beforehand, Magnier had to figure out who was going to be awarded the car. He said: “We’re going to sit down this week and come up with a place.”
But after referencing Annabel, he added: “If I was a police officer round Warwick Farm I’d be very careful and up early in the morning. “There’s every chance you might see a red Ferrari zooming into work.” Opening up on why Ferrari was chosen for the promotion, Magnier said: “Ferraris and Justify have so much in common.
“They are both fast, red, powerful and incredibly stunning.” When the scheme was announced last summer, Magnier explained: “In the past, other farms have offered cash bonuses as incentives for various first-crop sires.
“However, with a stallion as special as Justify, we thought it was appropriate to reward the owners of the first Group 1-winning Justify with a Ferrari. Ferraris and Justify have so much in common. They are both fast, red, powerful and incredibly stunning, and given the quality of his stock that we have seen, we’re convinced that we will be giving one away.
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(Image: Mark Evans/Getty Images)
“Justify is the only US Triple Crown winner to ever retire undefeated and is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary horses to shuttle to Australia.
“Ever since it was announced that he was shuttling, he has been met with an incredible response by Australasian breeders, and he covered an unbelievable book of mares in his first season.
“We could not be happier with the quality of the Justify stock that we have at Coolmore, and reports from all of our clients with Justify yearlings to sell and race has been overwhelmingly complimentary.
“We couldn’t be more confident about Justify leaving his mark on the Australian breeding landscape in the future, and we are so excited by what is to come.”
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