Lots of athletes pivot to different sports after their days playing their first-choice have come to an end. Rio Ferdinand just did it with boxing. This is the first time, though, we have heard of an athlete pivoting to being a jockey. Michael Owen, the 37-year-old former Liverpool, Newcastle, Real Madrid and Manchester United striker, has done just that.
Owen rode a horse called "Calder Prince" in the Prince's Countryside Trust seven-furlong flat raced, and impressed with a second-place finish.
Watch as @themichaelowen came tantalisingly close to winning on his debut as a jockey @Ascot in the @countrysidefund Charity Race. pic.twitter.com/GPo5lizvYz
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) November 24, 2017
There's always room to improve (for example, he could improve by actually winning the next one), but that's a pretty good debut from Owen. He should keep his job as a BT Sport pundit just in case things don't work out, but Michael Owen could have a future on the racetrack.
