Sir Alex Ferguson and Bryan Robson joined the crowd at Cheltenham on Day Three of the festival along with Jamie Carragher, Sam Allardyce and Harry Redknapp.

The former Manchester United has six horses running at Prestbury Park this week, four of those on Thursday.

Monmiral is running in the 2.10pm Pertemps Handicap Hurdle, while Protektorat and Hitman will be at the starting spot in the Ryanair Chase at 2:50pm.

Meanwhile, Il Ridoto is running the Festival Plate Handicap Chase at 4:10pm where he will up against Redknapp’s horse Shakem Up’Arry.

The winner of the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle will pocket £56,720, with £67,524 up for grabs in the Festival Plate Handicap Chase later in the afternoon.

The Ryanair Chase, meanwhile, pays £218,398 to the winner. It means that Ferguson could land just under £350,000 should his three-fold land.

And the 13-time Premier League winner believes Hitman is in with a chance to claim the Ryanair Chase.

‘I think Hitman will do well,’ he told Thoroughbred Daily News.

‘I just feel that he seems to die in the last couple of fences over three miles, but he’s back running over two miles and four furlongs.

‘He might just surprise people.’

Ferguson has two horses running on Friday, with L’Eau Du Sud running in the BetMGM County Handicap Hurdle at 2:10pm and Sonigino in the Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle at 5:30pm.

Allardyce and Carragher were also spotted at Prestbury Park on Thursday and the former England manager accidentally photobombed Princess Beatrice as she posed on the Old Course.

Beatrice and her husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi joined her cousin Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall at the Festival, along with Princess Anne.

It’s the second day attending for Zara, an Olympic equestrian, and her mother Princess Anne, who yesterday was joined by Queen Camilla and Beatrice’s sister Eugenie for Style Wednesday.