Actor Hugh Bonneville, best known for his roles in the world famous British TV drama series Downton Abbey and most recently the critically acclaimed film Paddington, took time out of his busy schedule to pay a visit to his new horse Torment at Richard Hannon’s yard last week.

Part of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s Palmerston Syndicate, Torment is an unraced son of Dark Angel out of Selkirk Sky who was a winning half-sister to the Listed winner Andronikos who was the second in The Gimcrack Stakes on just his second start.

Bonneville has tasted success as a racehorse owner three times already, including twice with his horse Gothic, part of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s Petrushka Syndicate, who remains in training with Sir Michael Stoute.

Hugh Bonneville commented, “This is the second syndicate I have been involved in with Highclere – the racing bug is catching. As a relative newcomer to the sport, watching the horses develop from yearlings to two year olds and beyond is a really exciting and quite a special thing to be a part of. Richard seems very happy with Torment’s progress. He’s a beautiful horse and so hopefully we’ll see him on the racecourse in the not too distant future.”