Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell-Owned Horse To Run at Cheltenham On Saturday

Five-time major golf winner Brooks Koepka will have a racehorse in action at Cheltenham on Saturday 26th October – as the horse called GIVEMEFIVE, that he part-owns along with fellow golfer with Graeme McDowell, will run in the Masterson Holdings Hurdle at 3:30pm.

Brooks Koepka Looking For A ‘Course’ Win Of A Different Kind, With A Cheltenham Runner on Saturday

Top golfers spending their money as racehorse owners is no new thing, but having one of the top US players involved in a horse running at Cheltenham, England is certainly a bit more rare.

Both Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka have won the US Open in their time on the horse racing syndicate that owns a runner called GIVEMEFIVE.

The LIV Tour players have teamed up to form the Smash Racing Syndicate, that along with top US player Koepka also includes his long-term pal Daniel Gambill.

Givemefive is trained in Boxford, Berkshire by former Paul Nicholls assistant Harry Derham – with the link-up with McDowell coming after they played in a pro-am a while back.

Koepka is also preparing for his big LIV vs PGA ‘The Showdown’ when he’ll partner with Bryson DeChambeau to take on world number one Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.

Givemefive Will Run In The 3:30pm at Cheltenham On Saturday

The son of Holy Roman Emperor has raced 15 times in his career – winning three of those – and returned from a 179-day break at the end of September to run a close second at Haydock on the flat.

With that run coming off a break he can be expected to have improved.

Trainer Harry Derham said

“He did really well last season,” said Derham, whose involvement with the golf stars came about when he beat McDowell in a nearest-the-pin challenge in a pro-am.

“His Kempton run was very good and I think it was his best performance. He came back sick from Fairyhouse, but I’m not making an excuse because on the day he just wasn’t good enough. It looks a pretty competitive race on Saturday so he’ll have his work cut out.

“It’s notoriously difficult for those four-turning-five-year-olds. A lot of them get to a decent level as juveniles but it’s generally a pretty tough year for them. But he’s a genuine horse and hopefully the best is still in front of him. It’s all about trying to find the right races for him.”

Givemefive Second In The Adonis Juvenile Hurdle Last Season

Givemefive has also raced four times over hurdles – winning twice – one of which was a solid second in the Grade Two Adonis Juvenile Hurdle at Kempton back in February (watch below).

Prior to that run had won his first two runs over the sticks at Market Rasen in December 2023 and Warwick his year in January.

At this stage the best horse racing betting sites in the UK have Givemefive as one of the fancies, behind Bottlers’secret and the Paul Nicholls-trained Kalif Du Berlais, who he finished behind in the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle last season and has a famous owner of his own – former Man Utd manager Alex Ferguson.

So – will it be a ‘hole-in-one’ for Koepka and co, or will Fergie be ‘hitting the back of the net’ at Cheltenham on Saturday?

The Masterson Holdings Hurdle will be run at 3:30pm at ITV Racing.