Ex-Prem star who scored at Wembley hoping racehorse can star in own ‘cup final’
A retired ex-Premier League footballer is hoping to see the racehorse he owns score in her own ‘cup final’.
Over a 17-year playing career that also included spells with Coventry City and Burton Albion, Ben Turner made 111 appearances for Cardiff City.
The defender enjoyed his two greatest moments when scoring for the Welsh club in the 2012 League Cup Final against Liverpool, which Cardiff lost on penalties, and helping the team win promotion from the Championship as league champions in 2012-13.
Aged 35, he now runs the Far Bihoue Partnership which owns Marsh Wren, a six-time winning mare who has her second start over fences at Warwick on Thursday.
The Stuart Edmunds-trained seven-year-old won her first chase and is stepping up to Listed level in the £35,000 feature prize.
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Turner said: “This is a massive opportunity for her to get some black type as we want to breed from her eventually as I don’t think we will get a better mare to breed from. She is from the sort of family that you want to breed from as well as she is so tough.
“From what both Stu and Ciaran Gethings have said she is looking in savage form at home. The ground can’t be testing enough for Marsh Wren. So many horses struggle to find that little bit extra when the ground is bottomless but she takes to it like a duck to water.
“This is Marsh Wren’s time of year, and this is her trip. This is her cup final, and we planned to go here even before she won her last start.”
Ben Turner (left): played 111 times for Cardiff City (Jamie McDonald)Father-of-three Turner has many fond memories from his time with the Bluebirds and added: “My family would say the League Cup Final would be their best memory, and it would be my best one-off memory, but getting promoted to the Premier League was my best achievement as that takes some doing over 46 games.”
He bought Marsh Wren with “a shoestring budget” and syndicated her. Several members of his family are among the 30 partners.
“When I was playing football I was fortunate enough to have half and quarter shares in horses, as well as own one outright, but being in a syndicate like this is no less of a buzz.," he said.
"I think we should have between 15 and 20 of the syndicate at Warwick as some can’t get the time off work unfortunately, but I’m sure they will be scrambling around their phones to see her as everyone is really excited about this race.”
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