Aston Villa stars spent a day at the races to fulfil a pledge to be friends off the pitch. The Premier League players got together to enjoy the first day of the Cheltenham Festival.
Skipper Tyrone Mings was among the group in the grandstand watching the seven races at the big sporting event. Alongside Emiliano Martinez, Ashley Young, Kortney Hause and Matty Cash, the group saw Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore land back-to-back wins in the Champion Hurdle.
Emi Buendia, Philippe Coutinho, Ollie Watkins and John McGinn also joined in the action, among a crowd of 68,000 people at the Gloucestershire venue. Recently Mings revealed how the team, set to face Arsenal at home on Saturday, were doing more social activities to get them to bond.
At a fundraising event for the Aston Villa foundation, Mings said: "We're working harder off the pitch to try and get to know each other better, to try to have more experiences off the pitch with each other. So that in and around the training ground you're not just a teammate, you're a friend.
"You're someone who you are relatable to, you understand a player's journey, you understand people's different family situations, you understand when things aren't going right for them off the pitch.
"All of that is leading us towards getting this club back in the right direction and getting this club back to where it should be."
Other celebrities in attendance on Champion Day were Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster, former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond and John Motson.
Zara Tindall, a regular at the track, was on hand to present prizes to winning connections.
Flat racing's famous jockey, Frankie Dettori, had a rare day out on the jumps circuit.
On Wednesday, Harry Redknapp will be among those on course for Ladies Day.
He recently bought a horse named Back On The Lash, with several others – and the horse faces dual Grand National hero Tiger Roll in the cross country race.
Trained by Gordon Elliott, the diminutive chaser is going for his sixth Festival win before heading into retirement.
The feature race on the card is the Champion Chase, sponsored by Betway.
Race favourite Shishkin, 10-11 with bookmakers Betfred, is after a third win at the meeting.
His trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Nico de Boinville enjoyed a double on day one, as fans returned to Prestbury Park's flagship meeting for the first time since 2020.
Get a £5 free bet on each day of Cheltenham Festival with bet365 here.
