I see Coolmore is recruiting a farm manager for its 4,000ac+ arable farm in Hampshire, UK. The 4,200ac Sutton Scotney estate was bought by the Magnier family for €52m. It contains 3,990ac of tillage and grassland, 142ac of woodland and 24 houses.

Located within 60 miles of central London, the estate was bought in early 2017, just months after the UK’s Brexit referendum.

With the UK being the biggest market for Irish thoroughbreds, The Dealer wonders if Coolmore boss John Magnier was playing the long game.

Was he doing some contingency planning for the worst-case Brexit scenario and potential movement restrictions on thoroughbreds?

Horses, after all, are more mobile than land.