Deripaska enters horse breeding world

Oleg Deripaska, Russia's richest oligarch - he has a fortune estimated at $28 billion – is about to enter the lucrative and socially prestigious world of horse breeding. The Sunday Telegraph reports that the 40-year-old tycoon has enlisted the help of one of Britain's most prominent bloodstock agents, Old Etonian James Wigan, and has already purchased two thoroughbreds to kick off his stable.

Says a friend: "Deripaska has taken on James Wigan as his first move. The pair met through Nat Rothschild, who has a close business relationship with Deripaska. Oleg already has a large number of racehorses stabled in Russia, near the Black Sea." Wigan, an Old Etonian who works for London Thoroughbred Services, has in the past been employed by Nat's father, Lord Rothschild, to add mares to his Waddesdon Stud in Hertfordshire.

Although the world of racing has accepted many larger-than-life figures over the years, it remains to be seen what the sport will make of Deripaska, who is one of Russia's most controversial tycoons. In 2006 his entry visa to America was revoked after concerns were raised about his alleged links to organised crime and the accuracy of his statements to the FBI, an accusation he denies.

When asked about Deripaska, Wigan was tight-lipped: "I don't make a practise of discussing what my clients are doing." Very wise.