Sir Alex Ferguson smashes his own world record as Man Utd legend completes huge purchase

Fergie's group won the auction for Regent's Stroll, an unbeaten horse, with a winning bid of £660,000 ($853,000). It is a world record sum for a National Hunt horse, surpassing the £633,000 record when the retired manager was part of a group that bought a horse called Caldwell Potter earlier this year.

Regent's Stroll has never run a race with jumps, but has dominated two 'bumper' events, which are flat races run under jump race rules for horses that haven't previously run on the flat, in order to gain experience in racing. But it has been enough for him to be considered the next big star of the sport.

Ferguson was infamously embroiled in a dispute over a race horse with prominent ex-Manchester United shareholder John Magnier more than 20 years ago. It related to ownership of the horse, Rock of Gibraltar, and the money made at stud after retirement. Ferguson recounted he believed he owned half the horse, whereas it was contested by the other side that he was entitled to half the prize money from racing. The matter was eventually settled out of court, but there is a lingering feeling that the bad blood at the time was the opportunity Malcolm Glazer needed to get the ball rolling with his eventual 2005 takeover.

Ferguson's decades-long passion for horse racing has been partially fuelled by the environment whereby he isn't hounded by people talking about football. But the Scot will be taking as close an interest as anyone in Manchester United this season after significant upheval at the club in recent months is ushering in a fresh era led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his new hierarchy.