Former Liverpool and Rangers forward Ryan Kent has splashed out £145,000 on a race horse that he hopes will be able to compete at Royal Ascot next year.
The 26-year-old, now playing his football in Turkey with Fenerbahce after five years in Scotland, is a racing admirer and has purchased horses in the past.
He is known to both breed and own the animal, with his newest purchase a yearling colt by Mehmas and was recruited at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale in Doncaster on Tuesday.
The horse, according to The Mirror, was knocked down on Kent’s behalf to Daniel Creighton.
It has been said that Kent’s ultimate aim has been to have a horse at Ascot while he works on other projects with other horses too.
Ryan Kent (right) has purchased a £145,000 horse as he continues to build his stable
Kent wants the horse to race at Royal Ascot next year while he works on other projects too
Kent reportedly has horses in training at some premier yards, with mares and youngstock also at Creighton’s Salcey Forest Stud.
‘We came to this sale to try to find a Royal Ascot horse, but Ryan has plans to have others that might have that bit of classic potential as well,’ Creighton told the Racing Post.
‘He has horses with Henry Candy, including Simple Man, but he’ll probably have a few more in future.
‘He already has a Sea The Stars filly with John and Thady Gosden, and he has some in training with Ralph Beckett and Karl Burke as well. He has a couple of mares with us too and he’s mad into his racing.’
Kent made 218 appearances in five years for Rangers, scoring 33 goals for the Scottish side
The Liverpool academy graduate saw the horse knocked down to Daniel Creighton on his behalf
Kent joined Rangers in 2019 after an original loan spell, for a fee of £6.5million after graduating from Liverpool’s academy.
He made one senior appearance for the Reds as he enjoyed several loan spells to the likes of Coventry, Bristol City and Barnsley.
While in Scotland he made 218 appearances for Rangers, scoring 33 goals for the club as he remained a key figure in the side.
He’s still very much focused on his football career, but is working hard on interests outside of the game with optimistic aims for the next 12 months.
