I'm an NFL legend but once bought a horse named after myself

ONE of the best things about buying a racehorse is picking a name for your potential superstar.

So imagine the despair when, as an NFL legend, you find out there's already one named after you.

And even worse… it turns out he's really rather good.

This was the situation former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski found himself in in April 2018.

So, naturally, he bought a share in the horse.

And it turned out to be a brilliant move.

Gronkowski went onto win more than $3million all in all and, even for a brief time, had aspirations of being a Kentucky Derby winner.

It wasn't to be, but the horse still gave connections a hell of a time with a runner-up finish in the Belmont Stakes and huge runs in the Middle East.

Funnily enough, his racing career - the horse's, not Gronk's - started in the UK in September 2017.

Then trained by Jeremy Noseda, Gronkowski was ridden by Ryan Moore on debut.

Not even the world's best jockey could cajole him to victory though after he finished seventh of 16.

But there was better to come.

They teamed up again to finish second at Newmarket in October of that year before the horse broke his maiden at Chelmsford the following month under jockey Sean Levey.

Three more rapid fire victories followed including one final one at Newcastle worth around $73,000 before he was shipped off to the US.

It was then Gronk got involved, with trainer Chad Brown, who had since welcomed the horse to his yard, aiming him at the country's most famous race.

But a 'slight infection' ruled him out and he was sidelined until returning at Belmont.

There, it was only Triple Crown-winning phenom Justify who got the better of him.

But it still meant Gronk and the horse's other co-owners celebrated a cheque worth around $265,000.

And the ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneers star and all his friends put $69 on the horse to place - so they all left with a little extra cash.

A run of so-so results followed before Gronkowski was aimed at the Dubai World Cup.

Sent off as one of the outsiders of the field under top Irish jockey Oisin Murphy, Gronkowski belied his odds to finish second and collect another monster payday worth $2.4m.

Gronkowski went onto win $3,162,360 in all on the track - a fair bit less than his namesake on the field.

But at least he gave him some incredible days out.