JP McManus: the big-punting owner in the market for more Cheltenham Festival winners

Introducing our cast of legendary Cheltenham characters. A new instalment will be published twice a week leading up to this year's Cheltenham Festival. Today – JP McManus.

What makes him great

There are few silks more widely recognised in jump racing than the green and gold hoops of JP McManus.

With an astonishing record of 34 champion owner titles across Britain and Ireland, the billionaire businessman and former bookmaker has reigned supreme over the past four decades to produce one of the most successful jump racing enterprises of all time.

Tied to his success is the Cheltenham Festival, the springboard for his operation following a first success in 1982 and has since been the site of a record-breaking 68 further victories.

A shrewd punter and long-standing devotee to the sport, McManus may have claimed more than 4,000 winners but few will scale the heights he has reached on the biggest jumps stage of all.

Judging by this year's squad, there are many more winners to come.

The early years

McManus was plagued with misfortune in his early bid for a festival winner. He sent out his first runner at the meeting in 1987 with Jack Of Trumps, who was backed into odds-on favourite for the National Hunt Chase but fell late in the race.

Although always discreet with his wagers, the mishap ruined a significant gamble for McManus that was fated to repeat itself 12 months later with Deep Gale, who was cruising through the race before crashing out at the sixth-last. It would be another four years before luck finally went his way.

JP McManus: "I often wonder whether I would have been able to have any of the others if Mister Donovan had been beaten"Credit: Edward Whitaker

Gamble gone right

McManus's breakthrough winner was not just subject of an incredible gamble but also a seismic moment in his ownership operation.

Maiden hurdler Mister Donovan was scooped up by McManus in 1982 after finishing third at Naas and was sent straight to the Sun Alliance Novices' Hurdle, now known as the Ballymore.

The winner's prize was worth £16,000 but McManus had loftier goals in mind. Although he never revealed the sum of his wager, he was reportedly in line to win £250,000 should he finally claim his first festival success.

The promising sign of morning rain bolstered confidence and Mister Donovan was backed from 6-1 into 9-2. Under the care of trainer Edward O'Grady and ridden by jockey Tommy Ryan, he raced prominently and duly obliged by a length and a half to land McManus the modern equivalent of £1 million, a success he credited later as paving the way to his future racing endeavours.

"I often wonder whether I would have been able to have any of the others if Mister Donovan had been beaten," McManus said. "My most important one at Cheltenham must have been the first one. He was needed."

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Istabraq: wrapped up a hat-trick of Champion Hurdle wins in 2000Credit: Caroline Norris

Champion of hurdlers

Over a decade after that initial success, McManus returned to the festival in glorious fashion with one of the greatest hurdlers of all time.

Istabraq etched his way into racing history with four successive victories at the Cheltenham Festival, landing the Sun Alliance in 1997 before wrapping up a hat-trick of Champion Hurdle wins in sublime style under Charlie Swan in 2000.

The 14-time Grade 1 winner was the crown jewel in McManus's glittering empire and was the first flagbearer for Aidan O'Brien's burgeoning Ballydoyle yard.

No-one has managed to replicate the feat since, although McManus claimed a record six more Champion Hurdles with the likes of Binocular, Buveur D'Air and Epatante.

Now aged 31, Istabraq resides in luxury at McManus's own Martinstown Stud in County Limerick. His legacy is yet to be matched.

Gold Cup glory

While McManus's greatest gambles are the stuff of legend in the Cheltenham betting ring, there are days when even he gets it wrong.

Yet the frustration of missing a winning bet on the final day of the meeting must have been tempered somewhat in 2012 by a first taste of Cheltenham Gold Cup glory, when Synchronised delivered a shock success in the festival showpiece.

Even McManus, renowned for his cunning festival punts, admitted his surprise at the result, which saw the 8-1 shot upset an anticipated showdown between Kauto Star and Long Run for trainer Jonjo O'Neill.

Tony McCoy and Synchronised return to the winner's enclosure after winning the 2012 Gold Cup, with JP McManus pictured in behindCredit: Edward Whitaker

"Anybody who owns jumping horses aspires to win the Gold Cup," McManus said afterwards. "I've had many great moments at Cheltenham and this will stand out there with the best of them.

"I got every encouragement to back him. I didn't back him, but it doesn't take away from the pleasure of owning the winner."

There may have been no gamble won but two other victories that afternoon, both striking at 20-1, gave McManus ample opportunity to recover any winnings he may have felt owed.

JP McManus at the Cheltenham Festival

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Forging ahead

With a breakthrough Gold Cup in the bag, McManus has established himself as a familiar yet formidable presence at Prestbury Park each March.

He claimed his best-ever result of seven winners at the 2020 festival, headlined by the Grade 1 victories of Champ and Epatante, while the success of Brazil and Elimay last season extended his record even further to 69 winners.

The tally is far from complete, however, with another strong team assembled for this year's meeting. Among them is the well-fancied Jonbon, who will bid to give McManus a first success in the Arkle, while an elusive maiden victory in the Champion Chase could come courtesy of Gentleman De Mee.

As always, McManus will be on the hunt for success this spring. You can be rest assured he will land a gamble or two along the way.

Read these next:

Ruby Walsh: the festival great whose riding achievements at Cheltenham are unlikely to be matched 

Nicky Henderson: 72 Cheltenham Festival winners and counting - including Sprinter Sacre's renaissance 

Freddie Williams: the betting ring king who was never afraid to lay bets from JP McManus 

Jonjo O'Neill: the legendary jockey and trainer who beat the odds time and time again 

Martin Pipe: the unconventional genius who became a hero to a generation of punters 

Willie Mullins: the festival's leading trainer, the £50m fall and his big hopes this year 

'That's what McCoy is all about' - the punters' pal and a Cheltenham legend 

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