So Why Has Michael Owen Acquired a Horse Called Shepherds Warning?

All of it, including the timing we are assured, was purely coincidental, but last Friday night at Thirsk racecourse the 6.15 Turf TV Claiming Stakes was won by a horse called Shepherds Warning. Coming at the end of week when Newcastle United's chairman Freddy Shepherd had warned Michael Owen publicly about his "loyalty" to the club, Newcastle followers may have felt that was coincidence enough. Shepherds Warning, however, was bought for £8,000 after the race and now stands in the stables in Cheshire belonging to - Michael Owen.

"It was not intentional," said Tony Calvin yesterday, "but once it dawned on me it did raise a chuckle."

Calvin, along with Andrew Black, one of the founders of the Betfair internet gambling business, bought Shepherds Warning in the 15-minute window allowed after Claiming races, but said that it was only after he had spoken to Nicky Vaughan, the trainer based at Owen's yard near Chester, that the coincidence struck him. Owen, whose passion for racing has raised eyebrows at St James' Park, was not involved in the purchase of Shepherds Warning, said Calvin, but "he must be aware now".

The man who sold the horse, Tim Whiting of the Marco Polo restaurant in Newcastle, a season-ticket holder at St James', was slightly skeptical of that explanation. "It's the yard that claims a horse," he said, "and I did find it slightly surprising. Michael Owen operates at a completely different level price-wise on horses." Whiting owned the horse for only a month, having claimed her after a race at Beverley.

"It's pure coincidence," Calvin insisted. "I went with Michael to a Pride of Racing charity function last year and we discussed the training operation he was setting up and I then went up to see it in November.

"Andrew Black, the Betfair co-founder, has a string of horses and is acquiring more. He then places them with different trainers. We looked at Shepherds Warning - the name didn't occur to me then - and thought basically there was some improvement in it. It's a two year-old that has run four races so far, been quite busy.

"I had spoken to Nicky Vaughan at Chester races on Thursday and told him we might be buying a horse and asked him would he be willing to train it. He said yes. So we took it from there.

"I texted Michael on Sunday to say what had happened and he replied 'Fantastic news' or something like that. But Michael Owen has no direct involvement in the horse. He's just the landlord, you could say. Bearing in mind that Freddy Shepherd said Owen 'owes' Newcastle last week it is intriguing, but we didn't go looking for it. It would be quite an expensive way of making a point."

Given that £8,000 equates to half a day's pay for Owen, he is one of the few who could afford the joke. The 27-year-old owns nine racehorses and his Manor Farm development has over 160 acres. He has still not responded publicly to Shepherd's warning over loyalty. As for Shepherds Warning, she will have a rest now but may be seen next month. "We'll be keeping the name," Calvin said.