GEORGINIO RUTTER says his love of horses helps him deal with the pressure of the Premier League.
The 23-year-old Brighton forward owns or has stakes in TWENTY race horses.
And over the last two years he has had as many winners on the racetrack as he has scored goals.
The current tally stands at 10 in both — although Rutter hopes to add to his goals count as the Seagulls chase a European spot.
But the Frenchman revealed buying his first horse — the French-bred bay gelding Bopedro — brought him great comfort during a difficult period at Leeds.
Rutter was struggling for form at Elland Road as the Yorkshire side missed out on promotion in 2024, losing to Southampton in the play-off final.
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He told SunSport: “Bopedro is my favourite. He’s the first one. He’s 10-years-old and a legend. He makes me love horses so much.
“When I was at Leeds, I had a bad time for six months and he helped me a lot.
“I visited him every week and that time we spent together made me feel like football is just football — in life it’s not the most important thing.
“You must be happy and look forward to every moment.
“Since I bought him, he’s one of the only horses that has never won for me. He’s finished second or third — but an unbelievable horse.
“Despite his age he never gives up — he keeps going. It’s inspiring.”
Rutter grew up in Brittany, north-west France, and remembers getting up close to horses as a child.
But it was not until he made a club-record £24.8million move to Leeds from Hoffenheim that his passion took off.
He said: “My family and I would go to my little town that had a racecourse.
“And every time I’d say to my parents, ‘I want horses’ — but my dad liked trotting while I preferred galloping.
“But when I joined Leeds, I could see horses everywhere. I said to myself, ‘Why not? Now might be a good moment to buy one’ so I bought Bopedro.
“Weatherby racecourse is only five minutes from the Leeds training ground at Thorp Arch — so I’d go and get a feel for the world of horses.”
Rutter moved to Brighton in the summer of 2024 for another club-record £40m fee.
And he has clocked 54 appearances for the Seagulls so far ahead of their trip to Fulham today.
While his horses have competed in TWO HUNDRED races.
And he says only scoring a winner for France in the World Cup final can beat the feeling of watching one of his horses win.
He said: “I’ve won 10 races — which is a small percentage but unbelievable for me. You never know I might one day get a horse that can win everything but that’s rare.
“But I’ve a problem. My horses have never won when I’ve gone to the course — I’ve had seconds and thirds. So all the wins I’ve watched on TV.
“It’s the greatest feeling. Of course, winning and scoring in a World Cup final for your country would be an extreme exception.
“But it’s an unbelievable feeling to win a race because you don’t have control. When I’m playing football, I do. I know what I can do and what I can’t — but with horses you don’t.
“It’s harder to win a race than a match. There are some owners who have never won a race so to win 10 is unbelievable.”
One horse owner who knows how to win is none other than Brighton chairman Tony Bloom.
The Seagulls owner has had many notable successes — including Venetian Sun in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot in May and Ponirous at the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.
Rutter said: “Every time I see him, we speak about horses. I even ran against him once.
“He has some very good horses — and is always asking me how things are going with mine.”
Rutter often does his ‘meditating’ by visiting some of his horses at the Coomelands Racing Stables, in Pulborough, West Sussex — where successful French trainer David Menuisier is based.
Menuisier famously trained top-class mare Wonderful Tonight to multiple Group 1 race triumphs — horse-racing’s equivalent to the Champions League.
One of the horses there is a promising two-year-old French filly that Rutter has called Brighlee — “in tribute to Brighton and Leeds.”
Rutter said: “It’s not only about racing for me. Sometimes when I go, they don’t even come out from the stable. I go in and stay with them.
“And it’s not just my horses but others as well.
“Some people might say, ‘This guy is crazy’ but I’m not. I just love them so much.
“It’s funny because on my early visits I used to be scared — but now I can go into a stable without worry. Although it would be difficult, I’d not even be scared to ride one.”
While Rutter continues to be inspired by his veteran horse Bopedro, he is also wowed by Brighton’s evergreen stars James Milner, 40, and Danny Welbeck, 35.
The pair are among EIGHT Seagulls stars in the squad aged above 30.
Rutter said: “Milner and Welbeck are two players that have already done in the game what I want to — or even better! So you must learn from them.
“Every day I’m with Welbeck, I pick something up. I don’t try to be him but with his experience it helps you a lot. He has such a great aura about him. When he speaks, you listen.
“Danny, for me, should be going to the World Cup with England this summer. He’s a striker scoring lots of goals — what more can anyone want?
“And Milner playing at 40 in the Premier League is incredible.
“Some players say, ‘Oh James is on at me’ but if that’s the case it’s because he likes you and wants you to be the best.”
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, 18-year-old Greece international Charalampos Kostoulas scored his Brighton goal — a stunning stoppage-time bicycle kick to earn a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on Monday.
And Rutter revealed: “At first, when the ball went in, we were all laughing — but it shouldn’t have been a surprise because he’s scoring goals like that in training all the time! Everyone’s so happy for him.”
Meanwhile, back in the sport of kings, Rutter cannot wait for the flat season to start in March.
He said: “If the schedule allows, I hope to go to the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster in late March and hopefully to some others maybe in the summer.”
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