Darts superstars Luke Littler and Stephen Bunting have teamed up away from the oche to jointly invest in a new racehorse aptly named Bunting Mental.
The thoroughbred will be trained by Hugo Palmer, a handler familiar with high-profile sporting owners.
Palmer has previously saddled Seagulls Eleven for a syndicate of footballers including Brighton & Hove Albion’s James Milner and Danny Welbeck, while his landlord is the renowned England football great and racing enthusiast Michael Owen, who also joins Littler and Bunting in this new venture.
Palmer expressed his delight at the diverse ownership group, which now includes the reigning world champion Littler – who was spotted enjoying the Cheltenham Festival in March – alongside his darts rival Bunting.
"It’s great having people from all different sides of the sporting arena as owners with us and it will certainly add some interest when the horses run," Palmer said.
He added: "It’s not going to make them run any faster, but it’s all good fun. He’s named Bunting Mental keeping on the darts theme."
The son of Ardad is described as a "nice horse" and is expected to make his debut later in the summer.
"He’s by Ardad, but quite big and is a nice horse. We’ve liked everything we have done with him so far, but I don’t think we’ll see him until summer," Palmer explained.
Concluding on the owners' enthusiasm, Palmer noted: "I’ve only spoken to them via WhatsApp, but they seem very enthusiastic and up for it. They are very excited about the whole journey."
The announcement comes just hours before Littler and Bunting could face each other in the Premier League Darts on Thursday night.
Darts’ biggest stars are heading to Liverpool for the 12th night of the Premier League season, with Littler and Bunting hoping to get the points they need to qualify for next month’s Finals Night.
