SIR Alex Ferguson looked as cool as a cucumber as he touched down in Saudi Arabia in search of winning a £1.6million race.
The Manchester United legend is hoping Spirit Dancer can land the Howden Turf Neom Cup on Saturday night.
The Richard Fahey-trained seven-year-old gave Sir Alex his best day ever on the racecourse when winning £500,000 with victory in the Bahrain International Trophy last November.
He had a prep run in Dubai last month and now is being aimed at the big Group 2 on Saudi Cup night.
Interestingly, Sir Alex could have been among those battling it out to win the world’s richest race, worth a staggering £15.8m this year.
But clever cookie Fahey reckons the Neom Cup is Spirit Dancer’s best chance of victory even if it is worth a fraction of the prize money.
Sir Alex bred Spirit Dancer – who he co-owns alongside businessmen Ged Mason and Fred Done – with Niall McLoughlin, who runs the football icon’s Upperwood Farm Stud.
The Old Trafford hero recently smashed the world-record fee paid for a National Hunt horse when spending £633,000 on Caldwell Potter at a sale in Ireland.
The ultimate dream with that horse, who has switched from Gordon Elliott to Paul Nicholls and will miss Cheltenham Festival, is to win the Gold Cup.
But there are still plenty of mega-money prizes to be won on the Flat.
Spirit Dancer is doing his best to hoover them up – with Sir Alex proving generous in rewarding stable staff when he lands a big one.
Fahey revealed: “The three lads are all going to be there to watch and they really appreciate what Spirit Dancer has achieved.
“They’re all very kind and took half the yard out for dinner after Spirit Dancer won in Bahrain.
“It’s been interesting for me to train for someone who’s been at the top of his sport.
“Sometimes he says things that I pick up, which amaze me.
“There are occasions too where Sir Alex will understand what I’m saying in the horse world that he can compare with his knowledge of football.
“He’s an extremely intelligent man and a genius in his profession, so I’m always a little bit timid of saying things too strongly – but there’s not too much I have to explain.
“He’s been in our industry for years and knows that there can be good days and bad days.
“Footballers can perform one day and not the next for no reason and horses can do the same.”
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