Jeremy Clarkson swaps sports cars for racehorses as The Hawkstonian set for first meeting at Uttoxeter

Jeremy Clarkson might be more used to racing cars than horses but the former Top Gear star is set to make his debut in the owner’s enclosure at Uttoxeter on Friday. Clarkson fronts a syndicate that owns The Hawkstonian, who was bought for €45,000 by Highflyer Bloodstock and trainer Ben Pauling at sales in June last year.

Old Gold Racing put together the syndicate for Clarkson - and 3,250 shares were quickly snapped up at £60 each in April. Now, the Pauling-trained racehorse, son of Jukebox Jury, is set to take its bow in the 4.22pm at Uttoxeter at Friday's meeting, ridden by Ben Jones.

And the trainer said he had been impressed by the horse, which is stabled at his base in the Cotswolds. “From day one he always seemed a nice individual,” he said. “He’s been in the yard since the backend of last season, and he’s been a joy to train. He takes it all in his stride and is a very straightforward customer, which isn’t always the case at this early stage of their careers.”

Pauling’s link to Clarkson is made stronger by the fact that the Pauling family originally worked the land that is now Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm and taught Kaleb Cooper (of Clarkson's Farm fame) how to farm.

Pauling has high hopes the horse could emulate the success of the farm, though it is early days. “His work at home has been very good. He’s got a great brain on him and we just hope he can be nice and professional on debut,” he added. “He settles into his exercise at home very well, so hopefully he can do the same on the track.

“On a scale of Morris Minor to Ferrari - for the sake of Jeremy’s [Clarkson] understanding - we’re hoping that he’s closer to the Ferrari end. He’s certainly one of the nicer four-year-olds we’ve got this season, so we’re excited to see him on the track.”

Syndicates run by the likes of Old Gold Racing give people the chance to own their own racehorse with an investment a fraction of the big fees usually involved in taking part in the ‘sport of kings’.

“Without doubt these multi-share ownership syndicates are brilliant,” Pauling added. “Syndicates like Old Gold Racing are allowing a lot of people into ownership that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford a larger share. I can only see this concept of ownership becoming more and more popular over the years.”

You can get more information about racehorse shares available with Old Gold Racing, via their website. Ed Seyfried, CEO of Old Gold Racing, said: “I just love that The Hawkstonian syndicate is bringing the experience of racehorse ownership to so many people so inexpensively whilst helping Jeremy Clarkson and the Hawkstone Brewery back British farming – even his oats are British.

“Racing syndicates like these really are a wonderful opportunity for anyone to get involved in racehorse ownership.”