Left: Lee during St Patrick’s Thursday at the 2016 Cheltenham Festival
Derrick Smith’s daughter, Viviene Day. “It’s trained in America by Wesley Ward and it actually ran at Royal Ascot this year, but unfortunately it didn’t win.” The golf and racing link usually tends to follow in the opposite direction. “I’ve played with a lot of the jockeys at golf days with the likes of Frankie Dettori, Mick Fitzgerald, AP McCoy, and I’ve got to know them pretty well. Carl Llewellyn too, he’s a bit of a bandit, and always good fun to be around.” The current tour season has been somewhat ponderous by Westwood’s standards given he has collected more than 40 professional titles across five continents in a career spanning 22 years. It is also fairly extraordinary to remember that it is 21 years since he made his Ryder Cup debut alongside Nick Faldo back in what was to be the first of 10 consecutive appearances in the classic encounter between the cream of Europe and America. He played a vital role in Europe’s dominant victory at Oakland Hills in 2004 as well as holding his nerve against Matt Kuchar in the singles in the dramatic comeback in the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ six years ago. As the 2018 showdown draws ever closer, this time to be staged at Le Golf National at the end of September, captain Thomas Bjorn will be calling upon Westwood’s wealth of experience. “I’m playing all right – in some tournaments I’ve played well, in some not so,” he says. “I’m vice-captain at the Ryder Cup, so that’s exciting. Some time down the line I want to be captain, so it’ll be nice to see what goes on behind the scenes and learn what captaincy is all about. We’re going to have a great team as far as ability is concerned, then it’s just a case of getting everybody thinking the right way and the team spirit high.” However long his playing career lasts on the fairways, Westwood has no desire to follow in the example of some other sporting heroes in taking a more hands-on interest in racing. Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton memorably turned jockey and finished fifth in the 2016 St. James’s Place Foxhunter Chase while footballer Michael Owen, who owns his own racing stable in Cheshire, rode in a charity race at Ascot. “God no, I’d never make the weight!” he says. “Michael Owen might have done it but he didn’t start at 100kg did he?” In fairness to Westwood, he seems to be doing just fine by watching from the sidelines.
Westwood’s contacts and knowledge help on the betting front as well. “I did do well this year,” he recalls. “On the first day I picked all six winners for the Tote jackpot and won just short of £22,000 there. Then I picked the winner of the last race and won quite heavily on that, because obviously I’d won a lot already. Then I managed to pick four of the first five on the second day as well. From the first two days, I’d got 11 of the 12 winners up.” This was no mean feat. Westwood laid out £128 for his pool bet in various combinations and while there were a couple of obvious bankers such as Buveur d’Air retaining the Unibet Champion Hurdle and Footpad running away with the Racing Post Arkle, not all of the winners were sent off favourite. At the most competitive meeting of the entire year, what on earth was his secret? “Just luck, a lot of luck,” he replies modestly. “I got a few tips off people. Ian Williams is normally good for a tip, and few others like Graham Wylie know their stuff. I kind of go around collating it from everywhere.” Perhaps the most notable golfer to have taken a serious interest in horses is the great South African Gary Player, who built up his own stud farm in the Northern Cape. Westwood says that few of the present crop have an active interest and that the clubhouse chat is not exactly centred around a copy of the Racing Post . “You don’t see many doing that, only me,” he explains. “Not too many of them are involved. Justin Rose likes it, his wife’s got a Flat horse called Master Merion with prominent owner
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