Michael Owen was among the racegoers in morning dress at Royal Ascot on Tuesday 14 June 2022, the first day of the five-day meeting, just hours after his daughter Gemma became the talk of Love Island.
Gemma Owen, then 19, was one of the original islanders in the eighth series of the ITV2 dating show, which had started a week earlier. In the previous night’s episode the women in the villa played a game of awkward would-you-rather questions, and Gemma, an international dressage rider, gave a joking answer about horses that quickly spread across social media.
Racing is the family business
Horses have long been a second career for the former Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle, Manchester United and England striker. Owen, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2001, owns Manor House Stables in Cheshire, where he breeds and races horses, and he has had runners at the biggest meetings in British flat racing.
He has also brought footballers into the sport. Mr McCann, a colt bought by Owen on behalf of a syndicate of current and former Liverpool players including James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, was among the runners in the Britannia Stakes later that week.
A summer in the spotlight
Owen, who also works as a television pundit, had already faced questions about his daughter’s decision to take part in the show.
Gemma went on to reach the final of the series with Luca Bish, finishing as runners-up in August 2022 behind Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti. Away from television, she competes in dressage and later launched her own swimwear label.
Royal Ascot, held each June in Berkshire, is one of the highlights of the British racing and social calendar, with the royal procession opening each day of the meeting.
Sources: Royal Ascot 2022 race cards and results, ITV2 Love Island series 8 episodes (June 2022), interviews with Michael Owen about his racing interests.