WITH Aintree in the horizon, J.P. McManus must be dreaming of another success in the race, even though he won it for the third time just 12 months ago with I Am Maximus. What a great meeting it was at Liverpool last years for the Limerick native, and he heads into this year’s edition on the back of a memorable Cheltenham.

It can never be stressed enough that J.P. has been the greatest supporter of National Hunt racing we have ever seen, and perhaps are ever likely to see, and he was in the hallowed winners’ enclosure six times over the four days at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, in spite of having two odds-on shots, Majborough and Jonbon, beaten.

While I Am Maximus stole all of the headlines last year at Aintree, another McManus runner to stake a claim for future glory, also at that meeting, was the Gavin Cromwell-trained Inothewayurthinkin, who followed up his wide-margin win in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir at Cheltenham a few weeks earlier with a clear-cut success in the Grade 1 Mildmay Novices’ Chase.

Now we know that connections will not follow the same course of action with the seven-year-old this time. Having just taken the feature at Cheltenham, the Grade 1 Boodles Gold Cup at the expense of the defending champion Galopin Des Champs, on Tuesday came the news that the Prestbury Park hero will not run at Aintree. Before that, Inothewayurthinkin was favourite for the Grand National, with McManus having three of the first four in the betting, the others being Iroko and last year’s race winner, I Am Maximus.

Long overdue

McManus enjoyed a long overdue first win in the Grand National with Don’t Push It, followed up with Minella Times, and completed a hat-trick with I Am Maximus. He is one of six owners to have landed the coveted prize on three occasions, so another win in the race would put him in pole position on his own as the most successful owner in the history of the race.

A win for Inothewayurthinkin would surely have been extra special, even among his collection of previous winners, largely due to the identity of the breeder. The son of Walk In The Park (Montjeu) was bred by none other than J.P.’s wife Noreen, and Inothewayurthinkin is one of two Cheltenham Festival winners that she has been responsible for from the smart French-bred hurdler Sway, herself a daughter of the late Boardsmill Stud stallion Califet (Freedom Cry).

Inothewayurthinkin won his first two starts over hurdles in November 2022, at Cork and Gowran Park, and then went seven starts without a victory until Cheltenham where he ran away with the Kim Muir Chase. He was stepped up a couple of notches and ran out a comfortable winner of the Grade 1 Mildmay Novices’ Chase, beating Iroko by four lengths. His run up to the Gold Cup saw him go winless in three starts.

Limerick Lace

When Inothewayurthinkin won at Aintree, it was 24 hours before his full-sister Limerick Lace (Walk In The Park) started co-favourite for the Grand National, where she was a creditable tenth of the 21 finishers. Limerick Lace attempted to win back-to-back editions of the Grade 2 The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase two races before the Gold Cup, but came up short. However, the green and gold silks of McManus were successful with Dinoblue.

While she won a bumper and a hurdle race, Limerick Lace has shown her best form over fences, posting five victories, and the second of her pair of Grade 2 successes came in the Barberstown Novice Chase at Naas. She has been placed numerous times in graded company, notably when second in the Troytown Chase.

Inothewayurthinkin’s half-brother Ilikedwayurthinkin (Yeats) was no slouch either, and this dual winner over hurdles and six-time winner fences was runner-up in a Grade 3 hurdle race at Aintree and in the Grade 2 Mayo Grand National Chase at Ballinrobe. They are among six winners on the racecourse for Sway, one of whom was the hurdle-winning mare Walk Me Home (Galileo), while last year Sway’s son Thatsdwayimthinkin (Getaway) won his only start to date, a point-to-point at Oldtown, in J.P.’s colours.

Guy Cherel

Sway was trained in France by Guy Cherel and she twice won on the flat at three before landing three listed hurdle races among four successes over jumps in that same year. She was bought by McManus to race in England, joined Jonjo O’Neill, and she won a couple of chases as a four-year-old. Her half-brother Romanesco (Epistolaire) was trained by Gordon Elliott, won a point-to-point, a hurdle race and three chases, but reserved his best efforts for defeats.

Second in the Grade B Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown, Romanesco was placed at Cheltenham in the Kim Muir Chase, and he looked like finishing in the money in the Irish Grand National when he fell at the last, the only runner to fall in the race that year.

Inothewayurthinkin’s third dam Quadrige Du Marais (Le Pontet) won seven races in France, three over jumps, and she bred a single winner, the listed-placed Madrika (Kadalko) who herself produced a listed winner over hurdles. Quadrige Du Marais is grandam of Oiseau De Nuit (Evening World) who was a Grade 3 winner over fences at both Aintree and Cheltenham, at the latter venue proving victorious in the Grand Annual Chase.

There is another branch of the family that has very current form. It is also the family of Grade 1 Royal Bond Hurdle winner Farren Glory (Fame And Glory), and his half-brother Croke Park (Walk In The Park). A Grade 3 hurdle winner, it is over fences that we are seeing the best of Croke Park, twice a Grade 1 winner at the end of last year.

Walk In The Park

Another Grade 1 Cheltenham Festival winner for Walk In The Park, Inothewayurthinkin joins Douvan, Min and Facile Vega on that roll of honour, and they are among 10 winners at the highest level in National Hunt racing for the Grange Stud stallion. What a pity that Jonbon is not also a Grade 1 Cheltenham Festival winner, unlucky in many eyes not to have captured the Champion Chase, though you cannot take any credit away from Marine Nationale.

The Walk In The Park list of Grade 1 winners also includes the aforementioned Croke Park, Spillane’s Tower, Final Demand, Ashroe Diamond and Ginto. The 10 are among a total of 46 blacktype winners, all but one of whom have done so under National Hunt rules.

Runner-up in the Group 1 Derby to Motivator, Walk In The Park’s career trajectory took a nose dive after that, and he eventually retired to stud in France at a fee of €2,500, going as low as €1,500 in his last season there.

With Douvan and Min emerging from his second and third crops, Coolmore swooped to acquire him, and the foresight they displayed has reaped rewards since. He stands at an undisclosed fee at Grange Stud.