In 2013, Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen made his first trip to Australia. It wasn’t for a football All-Stars match or a guest stint at any A-League side.
This time an EPL legend was in Australia to participate in the Melbourne Cup.
After retiring at Stoke City in 2013, Owen went all-in on his thoroughbreds passion.
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Four months later, the former striker had a horse he’d bred racing in the Melbourne Cup. His name was Brown Panther.
The horse finished eighth behind Fiorente in the 2013 event.
Despite not taking out the major prize, Owen has fond memories of his time at Flemington Racecourse, and is part of the reason why he’ll return to Australia for a speaking tour in November.
“It was a great trip down there, I spent four or five days down in Melbourne and just had the most incredible time, so as soon as this opportunity came to come back down to various places in Australia, I thought that’d be great, I need to go there again,” he told Wide World of Sports.
Unfortunately for Owen, Brown Panther would pass away two years later after suffering an injury to a hind leg in the Irish St Leger.
Brown Panther gave Owen his first major win as a racehorse owner, and his devastation was clear at the time.
https://twitter.com/themichaelowen/status/643139123004481536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“It’s the saddest day of my life,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The toughest, most honest, brilliant horse I will ever set eyes on passed away today doing the thing he loved the most.
“A shattered hind leg that was irreparable according to the first-class team at the Curragh ended his life.
“I was with him when he was born, shared an experience for seven years that will never be repeated and gave him his last kiss goodbye.
“What an honour to own and breed him. I love you Panther, life will not be the same without you.”
Owen’s love and devotion to racehorses didn’t end though, with his stables going from strength to strength.
When he was 23 he bought an Arable farm, with eyes towards what he’ll do post-career.
He converted a shed into 20 stables and now, according to Owen, there’s 135 horses.
And with that, the ambition to win Australia’s famous race is still burning inside.
“We haven’t had another runner in the Melbourne Cup but we’re always looking,” he said.
“There’s a lot of crossovers with Australian racing. A lot of your sprinters come over for Royal Ascot and kick our backsides with the sprinting but I still think we’ve got the upper hand with our staying horses, you buy a lot of our staying horses for races like the Melbourne Cup.
“My stable has sold one or two horses over the last 10 years to Australian clients.
“We had an absolutely incredible time, I took my family down, I took my parents and three friends down to Melbourne for that race. Any excuse to get another runner in the race would be great.”
Before he returns to the Melbourne Cup one day, Owen will be on tour in Australia from November 20 to 23. The first event will be at Perth Ascot Racecourse, followed by Gold Coast Turf Club, Club Marconi Bosley Park and of course, Flemington Racecourse.
Owen, who splits his time between racing and football punditry, said there’s plenty of motivation for him to visit down under.
“I know there’s a lot of football fans, Premier League fans out there. I know there’s plenty of people that would’ve seen me play back in my day. It will just be great to come out, meet a load of people, tell a few stories, answer a few questions, and have my photo taken with a load of people,” he said.
“Long gone are the days for me where I do anything I don’t want to do. I can easily just sit back and go to my farm and watch my horses galloping but it sounded like a fun trip, telling a few stories, meeting a few people and coming down to a big country, in four big cities, so I thought, why not?
“It’ll be a good laugh. I hope it’s a nice, relaxed time where people enjoy their day out and hopefully enjoy meeting me and take away some memories and ask some questions. So I’m really looking forward to it.”
Tickets for the event can be found at paradigmentertainment.com.au