JP McManus: No horse gives me as much pleasure as Champ

The nine-year-old named after champion jockey AP McCoy has given his owner a welcome dilemma for 2022. "It's a high class problem," he said after Saturday's victory at Ascot.

DILEMMA: Champ, with Jonjo O'Neill Jr. on board, en route to victory in Saturday's Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot.

JP McManus has put so much into National Hunt racing that one can be forgiven for thinking most races and most horses mean as much as any other to him. Nothing could be further from the truth.

He rarely gives much away. Yet the Martinstown maestro still gets an almighty buzz from the big days and there is no question he is one of the most compassionate when it comes to any of his horses.