The racehorse bought as a wedding present for her husband has a new owner.
Monbeg Genius had been purchased for £80,000 in 2020 on behalf of the entrepreneur and Tory peer and raced over jumps in the ownership of Barrowman Racing Limited for the Jonjo O’Neill stable.
After winning five of his starts, and earning more than £82,000 in prize-money, he became one of the leading early fancies for this year’s
His eligibility for the big race was uncertain for a period as part of a National Crime Agency investigation into PPE Medpro, a Barrowman-led company awarded £200m in government contracts during the pandemic.
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After enquiries were made by the BHA, the regulator declared that “horses in the ownership of Barrowman Racing Ltd are not affected by the restraint order and are therefore permitted to continue to race.”
Monbeg Genius ran twice but never made it to Aintree, having been pulled up in one of his warm-up races at the . He is back in training for the new season with O’Neill, who now holds the licence with son AJ, but in new ownership.
The new owner is Martin Tedham, one of the O’Neills main supporters who also sponsors the Jackdaws Castle yard through his Wasdell Properties company.
AJ O’Neill told that the Grand National will again be the ultimate target for Monbeg Genius.
"Things didn't go to plan after Newbury last season," he said. "We'd planned to go to the Classic Chase at Warwick but he got a stone bruise, so we waited for Kelso instead and he ran poorly on a track that was probably too sharp for him.
"He got quite a nasty but fortunately superficial cut at Cheltenham and it was a disappointing season in the end. The Sodexo Gold Cup at Ascot might be a good starting point for him.
"If it was softer ground than last year, we'd definitely think about the Coral Gold Cup again. The Welsh National and Classic Chase would be options beyond that, and ultimately we'd like to get him to the Grand National this season."
