Michael Owen on his passion for horses and his drive to make his Manor House stables the best

Like lots of retired footballers, the competitive itch stays for Michael Owen.

Rather than drop down the leagues or get in the dugout, the previous Ballon d’Or winner has actually turned away from football to indulge his post-playing competitive impulse.

At Manor House Stables, his training operation in Cheshire, Owen has actually developed a company that integrates his love of horse racing with the very same drive that saw him turn into one of English football’s most respected goalscorers.Owen on his drive to make Manor House the very best

“We’re mixing it now but there’s a long way to go to be one of the best. Being the best is possibly an impossible thing when you think of the superpowers, but we’ve definitely got room for improvement.

“What do we require to do? We require more horses, much better quality horses. How do you get more horses? You require more owners, wealthier owners I expect if you wish to be extremely truthful about it. How do we do that? We require outcomes and a center to care for individuals that wish to enjoy. And how do we do that? We need to be at the cutting edge of science and go out there when there’s a huge occasion on and there may be prospective owners there.

“You’ve got to get your arse off your comfortable chair and begin pushing flesh. You need to have drive and aspiration, you need to be here at the break of day, discovering your company, getting the very best out of your personnel, inspiring them. Everything starts with a target, which is to be the very best in business.