After a few drinks in the local we somehow got onto Rock Of Gibraltar and who actually owed what... It was a while ago now but i seem to remember that Alex 'Taggart' Fergie fell out with Coolmore but i couldnt remember why... Was it over who owned the breeding rights or over the share of the winnings...??? Anyway im sure the good people of the forum will be able to shed some light onto this subject... I know i could google it but to be honest i might forget by the time i wake up tom...hic.!!
It never actually came out and it was settled out of court I'm sure ! Think magnet offered 5% of stud fees + a nomination of a mare but this was raised to 10% and a few nomanations per year
I'd also like to know more about this as I think it sheds light on the behaviours of certain people. As far as I know (and please enlighten me) Fergie was offered joint ownership in ROG after it had been unplaced at Royal Ascot in the 2001 Coventry Stakes. From memory the Ladbrokes bloke brokered the deal. Allegedly no payment was made but ROG began running in Fergie's colours. And run it did!! Despite one slip up in the Champagne Stakes it won the rest of the season's main 2yo races, including the Dewhurst and Grand Criterium. When it came to the 2000G then ROG seemed to be the stable second string as Spencer rode Hawk Wing. Whatever one thinks about Spencer's riding ROG won the 2000G in the hands of Murtagh and then went on to win a succession of mile races, that meant he won 7 Group 1s on the trot. By this time some ridiculous comments were being made about Fergie by Coolmore people, one being that 'Fergie was a genius he should be Prime Minister'. At the same time the gentlemen of Coolmore took an interest in ManU. At the end of his career it all came to a head when the parties tried to sort out who owned what of this thought-to-be very expensive property. Allegedly Fergie felt he owned half of the horse and should get half of its covering fees or something like that. The Coolmore view was that this was not the case. This spilled over into bad feeling at Man U. Whatever your feelings on these characters none of them particularly covered themselves with glory. Obviously a deal was patched up which was nowhere near what Fergie believed he owned or deserved. I have no idea what it was. As it is ROG hasn't really set the world alight. What Private Eye would call a Sh*t shot Sh*t situation.
I don't think the full deal was disclosed, but it was all about the stud income. Ferguson felt he was entitled to a share, even though that was not part of the original agreement. Problem was, on paper at least, Ferguson was the registered owner in so far as Weatherbys were concerned. Lesson No 1 - NEVER try to take on Magnier et al when money is concerned!
I've always had the feeling that Fergy didn't looks too good here. The link below sort of hints at it I think. He wanted heaps, but in the end took little. http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/the-battle-for-the-rock-of-gibraltar-2596362.html
Thanks Cyclonic that's very much more than I've heard before. The Gimcrack bit sounds a bit fanciful, but I agree with you that Fergy didn't look too good. The wonderful Glazer's are perhaps the legacy of this whole episode?
This is just what one of my mates said last night. Fergie saw a bit of a money deal coming his way, thought he might just push it a little bit further. The Magniers saw what he was trying and so said no way, and then it all went a bit Pete Tong... So its a case of the full story not really coming out but we have a damn good idea of what went on... Thanks all... ps- tom was ok this morning...
Thats a good piece cyc, cheers... I forgot about the fans planned protest last night but reading this i can remember it now... It dos seem that Fergie was put in his place a bit for crossing the powerhouse of Magnier... Plus they came out of it with a nice tidy some for there efforts... Money to money dont they say...!!!
Someone else who tried to cross Coolmore when it comes to money. To be fair though, this guy is a known whack-job, as they'd say in the US of A!
The problem would appear to be the lack of clarity within the original deal as If you give someone a horse presumably you are giving them the horse as their property, unless within the written deal there is clarity in which it states during it's racing career. I have some sympathy with Ferguson and in a way respected that he stood up for what he thought was right even though it was against some pretty heavy people. The horse was clearly not expected to be what it tuned out to be which caused the problem. I think it's a shame that they could not reach an agreement over a quiet drink which is the way friends usually solve such an issue, but the strength of the personalities would always make this a problem i guess.
