Movie megastar Matt Damon will be a keen observer when a horse he owns races for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.
The American actor co-owns a two-year-old colt, named Dale, who will run for trainer Paul Messara in the opener at Randwick on the Kensington track.
But how did such a worldwide and well known name end up with an Australian racehorse?
Messara revealed part of the story that includes Damon and his daughter’s love for John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell’s hit comedy Step Brothers.
The attention to detail is evident in the colours of the silks to be worn by jockey Tim Clark. The silks mimic that of the sweater vest and shirt combo worn by Dale (Reilly) and Brennan (Ferrell) in the 2008 hit.
“It’s a bit of a long story really,” Messara said on SEN’s Whateley.
“It was a late night over in LA and I get a phone call saying we’ve had this great idea and we want to buy a horse, but the stipulation is it must be called Dale.
“The story goes that basically Matt and his daughter bonded during her teenage years watching the movie Step Brothers, starring the two characters Dale and Brennan.
“Dale is their favourite and hence the colours are blue sleeves with a checkered vest, which is Dale’s outfit in the show, basically.”
Damon’s affection for horse racing started when he was in Australia filming Thor: Love and Thunder back in early 2021.
The racing connection between he, Messara and mutual friend Paul O’Brien has only grown since.
“I think it grew a bit when he came to Australia during the pandemic,” Messara added.
“Not a lot was on and a good friend of ours, Paul O’Brien - who is the mutual connection between us - is a big fan of racing and all things horses. So, that’s where the introduction came from.
“While he was here he started following the horses a bit. I met him during that period and then over the last couple of years we’ve seen a bit more of each other.
“Then the opportunity arose that we’re going to get a horse and we’re going to call it Dale.
“He’s a big strong bold thing with a big white face. He’s a nice horse so it’s going to be interesting to see how he goes.”
Dale, the son of Castelvecchio, runs in Race 1 at Randwick-Kensington which jumps at 2:20pm AEDT.
