09:59

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s “other” sport is horse racing and, from a standing start last year, he became one of the leading owners in the sport in Britain. He first made headlines on the eve of Royal Ascot 2017 when spending £2m on six horses with the aim of having runners there and is since thought to have spent 10 times as much building up a string under the name of King Power Racing.

His blue and white colours have become familiar to racegoers and he had winners at both Doncaster and Newbury on Saturday. He often nodded towards his football interests when naming his horses, including Come On Leicester, Fox Power and Fox Vardy.

Srivaddhanaprabha had become particularly important to the Hampshire stable of Andrew Balding. “He is a horseman and knows about horses,” Balding said this summer. “He has played polo to a good level. Money doesn’t always guarantee results but the signs are good. They are the nicest bunch of horses I’ve ever had.”

