I hope he runs like Gareth Bale! HARRY REDKNAPP on the racehorse he likens to Razor Ruddock and Stuart Pearce – and why his nan ‘used to get slung in the back of a police van every other day’

Harry Redknapp shouldn’t have a care in the world, given where we are, but he wants to give a warning before we venture any further.

‘I’m telling you – be careful,’ he advises. ‘I wouldn’t go with him, I’m too much of a coward! If you leave your hand on that stable door, he’ll have your fingers off.’

It’s the kind of line that, ordinarily, would illicit gales of laughter but Redknapp is serious. He recently likened the horse with whom we are trying to get a picture to those hardest of footballers, Neil Ruddock and Stuart Pearce, and, quickly, you can see why.

The Jukebox Man is Redknapp’s pride and joy, the undisputed star of the 28 horses he owns. On Boxing Day, the gelding will line-up in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase and his prospects of winning this historic three-mile contest, a staple of a sporting Christmas, are outstanding.

He gallops relentlessly and jumps zestfully but, like many of the great players Redknapp managed, The Jukebox Man is an Alpha character. As we approach his stable, he sees us and lowers his head; he pins his ears back and glares. If he could talk, his next words would surely be: ‘You want some?’

‘He’s got his own rules on life,’ Ben Pauling, Redknapp’s trainer, cautions. ‘But he is a power-packed package of talent and aggression.’

The Jukebox Man is Redknapp’s pride and joy and the standout star of the 28 horses he owns

Such an evocative portrayal has Redknapp, who is at Pauling’s state-of the-art yard in the Cotswolds with his wife, Sandra, smiling. He’s owned horses since 1989, dating back to his time in charge of Bournemouth when he was one of seven men at the club who forked out £1000 to make a syndicate.

‘We bought one called Slick Cherry and sent him to David Elsworth,’ Redknapp recalls. ‘He was fantastic, won a couple on the flat and one over hurdles. And Elsie… what a trainer! We’d go down on a Sunday to his stables in Whitsbury (Hampshire) and have real good fun.

‘Desert Orchid (a four-time winner of the King George) was there; his great flat horse In The Groove, too. What a boy Elsie was. So that’s how I got into it. I’m not a drinker or anything like that. This is my passion. A bit of golf, a bit of racing. That’s me, really. And I know how difficult it is to get a good one.

‘We were at home last week, with the racing on. This guy says: ‘That Harry Redknapp, he keeps buying good horses!’ Sandra nearly fell of the settee, couldn’t stop laughing! We’ve a list (of moderate ones) as long as your arm! But I suppose if you throw enough darts and one might stick!’

For context, The Jukebox Man cost £70,000 when he was sold by Goffs, the leading auction house, in November 2022. Buying these animals comes at a premium and the ensuing discussion about building a string leads Sandra to divert her gaze from her phone to deliver the line of the morning.

‘I think ‘sometimes‘, he doesn’t tell me what he’s done,’ the accompanying eyebrow raise bringing the house down. ‘I’ll say to him: “Here – when did you buy that then?” And he’ll be like: “Oh, er, I’ve had it ages!”‘

Redknapp chuckles. He stood some chance of trying to outwit Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger but, as any husband will testify, nothing escapes your better half’s attention; so while Sandra might not be a regular racegoer, she absolutely knows when the blue-and-white silks are in action. 

She also knows what horses means to him and he is now fully warmed up, taking us back to those formative years in Poplar, that feel like they were only yesterday, when racing provided a wonderful – and much-needed – distraction.

Redknapp has owned horses since 1989 – dating back to his time in charge of Bournemouth

Redknapp was crowned King of the Jungle by wife Sandra when he appeared on I’m a Celebrity

‘My nan would take bets off all the old gals on our street,’ he says, chuckling again. ‘She used to get slung in the back of a police van every other day!’ She wouldn’t believe I was here, with a fancied runner in the King George. It’s a far cry from the East End of London!

‘People forget there were no betting shops. The only way you could have a bet was through an illegal bookie – the one by us was Cyril the Paper Boy. Christ, I’m calling him ‘the paper boy’ – he was about 70 even then! Nan would collect the bets, Cyril would pay ’em out.

‘The standard bet was three tuppeny doubles and a tuppeny treble! That was it. I can still see them now. It’s quite amazing really. It was after the war. It was important to people but going racing wasn’t something we ever did. It was another world away from us.’

True but Redknapp, enthusiastic as ever at 78, embarked on a remarkable journey to reach the other world. He managed teams that played with flamboyance, while his easy-going nature made him relatable to the general public, who voted him King of the Jungle on I’m A Celebrity in 2018.

When The Jukebox Man won his warm-up race at Haydock last month, it took Redknapp 15 minutes to get from the parade ring back to the owners lounge 50 yards away. He’d driven four hours from Poole, was going to do the same journey back but he stayed, chatted and scribbled autographs.

‘You know, I could have a day on my own at the races,’ he says. ‘I’ll go to Fontwell or Wincanton, one of those little tracks. I’ll have a pie and a cup of tea and just have a chat. It’s humbling. I like giving my time to people, I don’t walk past anyone. Haydock was fantastic – I hope Kempton will be the same.’

So preoccupied is he about the King George, Redknapp candidly admits he won’t be much company on Christmas Day around the dinner table at his eldest son Mark’s house and it is in this moment, unintentionally, he manages to capture the magic of it all.

Racing, like many sports, has problems but, essentially, it will never lose its ability to make dreamers of us and that is why, as Redknapp recalls an agonising defeat The Jukebox Box man suffered at The Cheltenham Festival in 2024, you can tell how much it all means.

Redknapp managed Spurs from 2008-2012 and was also successful in charge of Portsmouth

‘Of course I’m nervous!’ he exclaims. ‘I hold my breath at every fence he jumps. Every day you just hope he is safe and sound. 

‘When Ben bought him, we hoped he would be okay. You know how difficult it is to get a decent one but here we are. I hope he can run like Gareth Bale!

‘You live in hope. I do lay in bed and think about him jumping the last and going clear. He did at Cheltenham, didn’t he? He was five lengths in front and then the horse he had got past battled back to beat him.

‘It was like being two-up after 90 minutes and the fourth official puts up three minutes. Then bang, bang, bang it’s 3-2. Oh my God! I’m not going there thinking: ‘we are going to win’ – how could I? You’ve got one from Nicky Henderson’s yard, Willie Mullins is sending two. But we’ve got a chance. And we’ll give it our best.’