Seagulls Eleven, who is owned by a syndicate of current and former member of the Premier League team, scored at Group 3 level for the first time
Members of the Brighton & Hove Albion squad have been filmed wildly celebrating a Glorious Goodwood victory of their star racehorse. Seagulls Eleven is owned by a group named Two Plus Three Two Plus Four, a syndicate which comprises current and former players for the Premier League team.
There are 11 in the ownership group, headed by James Milner, which also includes Danny Welbeck, Lewis Dunk, Jason Steele, Pascal Gross and Billy Gilmour. The three-year-old, who runs in Brighton’s blue and white striped colours, is trained by Hugo Palmer who is based at the Manor House Stables in Cheshire which are owned by Michael Owen, the former Liverpool and England striker.
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Last week Seagulls Eleven clinched his biggest success so far when capturing the Group 3 Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes
Last year he ran at the Breeders’ Cup in the US and also took connections to the 2,000 Guineas and Royal Ascot in 2025.
None of his owners were able to attend the victory as they were in the midst of pre-season training but video of the squad watching the race has now been posted on Owen’s Manor House Stables account.
Milner, Welbeck, Dunk and their teammates are gathered in front of a giant screen of the race and become increasingly vocal as the race reaches its climax. Then as the gelding approaches the winning post under Oisin Murphy with the race in the bag, they jump up and down in celebration.
The caption accompanying the video reads: “The feeling of being a Manor House Stables winning owner. Massive congratulations to the Two Plus Three Two Plus Four syndicate, who cheered home their fantastic Group 3 winner Seagulls Eleven.”
Seagulls Eleven could be set for another international campaign with Palmer keen on having a crack at the £5 million Golden Eagle in Sydney, Australia, later this year.
Palmer said: “We probably over-faced Seagulls Eleven a bit last year – he danced some pretty big dances – but he is a very generous horse and they weren’t getting past him. He is quite a handful and not an easy horse to train – gelding him has made a bit of a difference.
“Seagulls Eleven has taken us all around the world and I don’t think we are done yet. The Golden Eagle in Sydney has already been mentioned and why not? It is a A$10m dollar race. Where can you say that in England?”