Andy Robertson Celebrates First Win as Sole Owner with Walk On Harry

Andy Robertson enjoyed a different kind of winner on Friday – and this one came with his name alone on the racecard.

The Tottenham and Scotland defender, a long-time racing enthusiast, celebrated his first success as sole owner when Walk On Harry landed the 5f maiden at Cork, triggering a €50,000 Goffs bonus in the process.

Robertson is no newcomer to the sport. He was part of the ownership group behind Mr McCann alongside former Liverpool teammates Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Adam Lallana. He also has a share in Wait Geordie, trained by Hugo Palmer, who made a winning debut at Bath under David Probert but has drawn a blank in five runs since.

This one was different. Walk On Harry was the first horse to run solely in Robertson’s name and he made it count, building on a previous course-and-distance third to strike at the third attempt for Henry de Bromhead and jockey Ronan Whelan.

The son of Earthlight, bought for €32,000 at last year’s Goffs Orby Book 2 sale, raced prominently on the far side, tracking favourite Southern Boulevard. When the race began to unwind inside the final furlong, Walk On Harry quickened, moved past the market leader and pulled clear to score by a length and a quarter.

The performance backed up what connections had started to learn about him.

"We learned a lot about him the last day and we thought dropping back to five furlongs we could be good and positive on him, but he's actually a horse that wants to travel," Whelan told Racing TV.

"He's got a lovely pedigree and he's a lovely physical horse to go with it, so hopefully he's only going to keep on progressing. He's got a beautiful mind to go with it, so he could have a bright future."

The win did more than just open Robertson’s personal account. Because Walk On Harry was eligible for the Goffs €50,000 bonus scheme, his victory secured that lucrative extra prize, leaving just one such bonus still up for grabs in Ireland this year.

It was also a good result for Racing Post tipster Graeme Rodway, who had flagged Walk On Harry at 11-2 and is already looking ahead with four more selections lined up for Saturday’s action.

For Robertson, whose competitive instincts are usually channelled into Premier League and international fixtures, Cork provided something else: the first taste of winning as a sole owner. With a sharp, progressive sprinter now in his colours and a hefty bonus banked, this may only be the start of his story on the turf.