19 December 2023 , 10:22
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Embattled Baroness Michelle Mone and her husband could net a Christmas windfall with their only racehorse.
Barrowman Racing is the owner of Monbeg Genius, who is 5-1 favourite with the bookmaker sponsor for the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow. The 3m6f marathon, which carries a first prize of £85,000, is the last big handicap chase of the racing year and is due to be run at Chepstow on December 27.
Monbeg Genius was bought on his owner’s behalf for £80,000 at the Goffs UK November sale in 2020, the year of the Covid pandemic. He was reportedly purchased for Mone as a second wedding present to her billionaire husband Doug Barrowman and sent to be trained by Grand National-winning trainer Jonjo O’Neill.
Under O’Neill, the seven-year-old has won five of his 11 races, three chases and two hurdles, collecting total prize-money of more than £81,000.
The trainer spoke of the horse as a long term Grand National prospect following his last minute withdrawal from the Scottish Grand National for which he had been backed into favouritism due to the ground.
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That followed a solid run at the Cheltenham Festival in March where he finished third behind subsequent Grand National winner Corach Rambler in the Ultima Handicap Chase.
Last time out he finished third in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury and at odds of 20-1 he is the joint third favourite for the Grand National itself at Aintree next April.
Monbeg Genius: the Barrowman Racing-owned horse is favourite for the Welsh National (RACINGFOTOS.COM)Glasgow-born Mone, 52, made her fortune in lingerie and was elevated to the House of Lords in 2015, taking the title Baroness Mone of Mayfair. On Sunday she admitted she had lied to the press over her involvement in the awarding of a £200 million contract to PPE Medpro, a company led by Barrowman, to supply PPE during the pandemic.
PPE Medpro is being investigated by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Department of Health and Social Care has also issued breach of contract proceedings over a 2020 deal for the supply of protective gowns.
Mone and Barrowman have denied any wrongdoing. Mone told the BBC ’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, “I don’t honestly see there is a case to answer.”