Cheltenham: The McManus Yankee: Keeping an eagle eye on JP’s string

Outside of the Grade One races, the legendary JP McManus has multiple entries in many of the handicaps at Cheltenham this week. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

JP McManus probably has upwards of 400 horses in training at any one time. Racing is a game of numbers and with that sort of firepower it is little surprise that he has a horse or two near the top of the betting in many of the high-class contests this week. But JP didn’t earn his nickname ‘The Sundance Kid’ by winning Grade One hurdles and Champion Chases and there is little doubt that the satisfaction he gets from having one ready for a big handicap still brings him his truest joy in racing.