Man Utd legend Sir Alex Ferguson was in good spirits as he enjoyed a day out at Goodwood races.
The record-breaking football manager joked around with jockey Frankie Dettori before seeing one of his horses compete. Paddy's Day, who Fergie owns with several others including 13-time champion jumps trainer Paul Nicholls and multi-millionaire Utd fan Ged Mason, ran in the Coral Beaten-By-A-Length Free Bet Nursery.
But the high-profile group of owners, persuaded to buy the horse on a night out with trainer Charlie Hills in Barbados, were out of luck as the sprinter could only finish eighth.
Nothing was going to dampen Sir Alex's enthusiasm however, on the same day it was revealed he is back at United to advise chief executive Richard Arnold. Before the race, the 80-year-old put his arm around Dettori, who was about to team up with a rival to Paddy's Day, a filly called Beautiful Eyes.
" Arsenal are going to get relegated this year, he told me that himself!" laughed Sir Alex, pointing towards the jockey's shoulder and then patting him on the head.
Dettori also chuckled and and put his head in his hands at the light-hearted prediction.
The Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League last season following back-to-back eighth-places. They have not reached the top four during the past six campaigns, with their last Champions League appearance in 2016-17.
Dettori hit out at his team's form in the closing games of last season, calling it "shocking" and saying a club of their calibre should make the European competition.
When he came over from his native Italy, Dettori was introduced to the London side by Derby-winning rider Willie Ryan and first saw them play live in 1989-90.
United, who hold the record for the most Premier League titles with 13, were sixth after the last run of top flight games. Top goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo was in Manchester earlier this week for talks about his future.
He was in the presence of Ferguson and Erik ten Hag at the at Carrington training base.
However Ronaldo was left out of the 21-man squad for Saturday's Atletico Madrid fixture in Norway. United want to retain the striker's services for another season, per his contract, and have ruled out selling him to a rival club.
