FORMER Premier League star Kevin Doyle is celebrating a £250,000 windfall – after selling a horse who is a half-brother to the legendary Altior.
Doyle, 38, an ex-forward for Wolves who helped get Reading into the Premier League, shelled out £140,000 for the incredible specimen as a foal in 2019.
Now he has made that investment back and then some after selling the horse at the Goffs Land Rover Sale in Ireland for just over quarter of a million quid.
For comparison, Doyle joined Reading for £78,000 in 2005 – so this horse is worth more than three times what he was a player!
In fairness, Doyle did go onto join Wolves for a then-club record fee of £6.5m in 2009, so the horse has some catching up to do to reach those levels.
Altior was a ten-time Grade 1 winner for Nicky Henderson who set a world record of 19 consecutive wins over jumps.
Owned by art historian Patricia Pugh, Altior won the Champion Chase twice as well as the Supreme Novices' Hurdle and the Arkle.
He amassed more than £1.3million in prize money before being retired last September.
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Now hopes are high his half-brother – the pair share the same sire in Camelot – could go onto greatness after Mags O'Toole made a winning bid of £252,000.
It was rumoured the horse could be going to powerhouse owners Robcour, which could mean he goes into Henry de Bromhead's yard.
Former Ireland striker Doyle, who won 62 caps, is making a name for himself in the racing world since hanging up his boots in 2017.
He runs the Slaney River Stud in County Wexford with his dad Paddy and is a regular at the auctions with good friend and leading consignor Peter Nolan.
Doyle, who also had spells with QPR and Crystal Palace, told Sun Racing last year about his move into horses.
He said: "I always planned on moving home when I finished.
"It's not my full-time job but it is more than a hobby as it's a bit of work every day and it's been fantastic for me coming home and getting stuck in.
"It gives me a buzz. My dad has bred National Hunt horses for years and it is my day today.
"I have always been interested in it and that is what I turn my time to now.
"I have done some coaching with Ireland's U17s too… but right now, I think I prefer working with horses to footballers!
"The family has done it for years and my dad bred a horse called Hollywell, which was favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2015, and he won a good few times there too.
"He didn't win the big one but hopefully there are plenty more to come from us.
"Football is over now and I got what I wanted from it.
"I don't wake up every morning pining to put my boots on and train – 5-a-side once a week is enough to feed that habit.
"I had a pony when I was growing up and for a year or two I was keen on riding him, but then soccer took over – and thankfully so!"
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