Bernard Westley's Premio purchase pays off

Owner Bernard Westley's decision to invest in a racehorse instead of a pension has more than paid off, with his 19,000gns purchase, Premio Loco, turning out to be one of the bargains of the decade.

Premio Loco's 11 wins have amassed more than £340,000 in prize money and, having finished third to two of the best milers in Europe in Canford Cliffs and Rip Van Winkle in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, the Newmarket-based six-year-old will be heading south again at the end of the month for the Celebration Mile, which he won last year.

Premio Loco started out as an all-weather star and won five races on the Polytrack. However, when trainer Chris Wall decided to dip his toes into Pattern race waters for last year's Celebration, Premio Loco rose to the occasion and produced his famous finishing kick to put fancied rivals to the sword.

That tempted Wall to look abroad, and Premio Loco mopped up Group 2 races in Cologne and Baden-Baden before taking a third at Ascot, courtesy of the Summer Mile.

Wall said: "Bernard was brave enough to stump up another £19,500 to supplement him for the Sussex and, thankfully, he made a £15,000 profit.

"Premio Loco never took to Dubai but he seems as good as ever since he came back. Goodwood was a career best performance. He likes the course. So, provided it does not come up soft, he'll take some beating."