Matt Damon has expressed his love for horse racing as the American actor, producer and screenwriter is the latest celebrity to join the ranks of racehorse ownership.
Damon is listed as co-owner of an Australian two-year-old Thoroughbred named Dale. Trained by Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich, the maiden Castelvecchio-Gesemi colt debuted at Randwick Kensington Racecourse on Jan. 31 with Tim Clark aboard, finishing sixth in a tough race won by Getafix. His next race is slated for Sunday, Feb. 18 at Muswellbrook Racecourse.
According to an article on racenet.com.au, Damon met Messara through his partner in ownership, Paul O'Brien, a mutual friend that operates a VIP air charter service.
"We spent the day together at Flemington on Derby Day last year, he loves racing, and asked me to get him into a horse," Messara told racenet.com.au.
Damon had one special request when looking to get into racehorse ownership with his partners and that was to name the horse Dale after the character in the movie Step Brothers, which is the Oscar-winning actor's favourite movie to watch with his 17-year-old daughter. She will reportedly join the ownership once she turns 18, as per Australian racing rules.
"We had a Castelvecchio colt at the time that had been passed in at Magic Millions," Messara told racenet.com.au. "The horse was coming along nicely so I thought maybe this could be Dale. Then I had to make sure the name was available, which it was.''
Messara said he believes the big colt will be better suited to run at the mile distance and will improve as a three-year-old.
(With files from racenet.com.au)