Graeme McDowell jets in from Florida to see Givemefive at Kempton as watches racing for the first time, and admits his heart ‘was racing harder than it has raced in a long time’


  • Golfer McDowell co-owns horse with Brooks Koepka and watched for first time
  • Givemefive raced in the Grade Two Adonis Hurdle, losing out by a length
  • McDowell has made a bet with trainer Harry Derham on the golf course

Graeme McDowell peered down Kempton’s straight and, suddenly, his eyes opened wide as adrenaline and excitement began to surge through him.

As a Major Champion and Ryder Cup hero, McDowell has mastered the art of staying calm when the stakes are high on a golf course. Among a throng of punters on a racecourse, however, he was just like everyone else: lost in the moment, hoping his vocal urgings would somehow make a difference.

‘It’s a bit of a drug, isn’t it?’ McDowell gasped. ‘I can see why people love (racing) so much. My heart was racing harder than it has raced in a long time, I can tell you.’

With good reason. McDowell had jetted in on a red-eye flight from Florida to be at Kempton to see Givemefive, the horse he co-owns with Brooks Koepka, run in the Grade Two Adonis Hurdle. It was his first time going racing and, after this, you could say with certainty it won’t be his last.

Though Givemefive couldn’t deliver the victory McDowell had been dreaming about – he lost out by half-a-length to Kalif Du Berlais, the odds-on favourite – his tenacious performance left the Northern Irishman animatedly talking about the future.

Golfer Graeme McDowell jetted in from Florida to watch Givemefive run at Kempton

Golfer Graeme McDowell jetted in from Florida to watch Givemefive run at Kempton 

He co-owns the horse with fellow gold star Brooks Koepka (picture) on the back of a bet

He co-owns the horse with fellow gold star Brooks Koepka (picture) on the back of a bet

McDowell came to own Givemefive after he lost a bet to trainer Harry Derham on a golf course. During a pro-am, McDowell through down the gauntlet and told Derham he would have a horse in training with him if he could get inside his shot to a par three. The rest is history.

‘Harry has made it an unbelievably cool experience,’ said McDowall, who is heading out to Jeddah for the latest LIV Golf tournament next week. ‘This was my first time meeting Givemefive but we keep in touch. I hadn’t seen Harry since I lost the bet to him but it was a decent bet to lose!

‘We have had so much fun so far. Brooks has enjoyed it. He wants a stable full of the things! He wants to know if Givemefive will run in the Kentucky Derby this year! I’m joking, but we have a WhatsApp group about the horse and it’s lighting up all the time.’

Givemefive missed out by a length but McDowell said his heart 'was racing harder than it has raced in a long time'

Givemefive missed out by a length but McDowell said his heart ‘was racing harder than it has raced in a long time’

Quite how busy that group would have been had Givemefive overhauled Kalif Du Berlais – trained by Paul Nicholls for part-owner Sir Alex Ferguson – can only be imagined but McDowell lived every second, standing on a lawn in front of the stands after having a small financial investment.

He grimaced as the pair crossed the line, as he would if a putt had lipped out, but nothing was lost in defeat. A run at the Cheltenham Festival is unlikely – Kalif Du Berlais certainly won’t go there, according to Nicholls – but it was cheekily suggested that Aintree, where there is an adjacent golf course, might be suitable.

‘Yeah, I could go there and work on my game!’ McDowell laughed. ‘I don’t know what the plans are. Brooks was wondering what I was dragging him into. He’d just won his fifth Major last year, we had spoken about it and I told him we had a horse he needed to get involved in. What an experience.

‘There’s nothing quite like coming to see all this in the flesh. Givemefive isn’t the biggest horse in the world but they love his work ethic and he’s got an amazing attitude. They call him ‘a little dude’ in the yard and that was a hell of an effort.

He said his first racing experience was 'a lot of fun' and that he was 'gutted' to have lost

He said his first racing experience was ‘a lot of fun’ and that he was ‘gutted’ to have lost

‘If he had popped his head in front, that would have been dream stuff. It was a lot of fun. I was walking out from the stables with Harry and I said to him: ‘This is kind of cool doing what you have to do’; look it was a great race, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.’

With that, he was summoned for much-need drink – but not without one final thought.

‘Ah, I’m gutted,’ said McDowell. ‘But Sir Alex is one of my heroes and I’m happy to let him have that. He’s got a hell of a horse, too.’



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