DAVID Manasseh was not happy to see a text from The Irish Field on his phone this week.

As joint-owner of Ballyburn, one of the hottest favourites for Cheltenham, it’s an exciting time but also quite nerve-racking.

“No news is good news,” he explained. “I’m dreading seeing a call come through from Willie Mullins with bad news, and I got a fright when I saw The Irish Field was looking for me. It’s an exciting time. I’m finding it hard to concentrate on my work, to be honest.”

A high-profile football agent, whose clients have included Gareth Bale and Jack Grealish, David has been involved in racehorse ownership in a small way for decades and has been a Cheltenham Festival regular for 20 years.

Although he has had winners here and there, David saw his luck take a big turn for the better when he took a share in Ballyburn with long-time friend Ronnie Bartlett.

The gelding has raced 10 times for the Mullins yard, winning eight and finishing second twice. Those wins included an effortless success in the Grade 1 Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle (2m 5f) at last year’s Festival, a result which brought tears of joy and relief to David in the winner’s enclosure.

In a memorable interview with ITV, a breathless and highly emotional David could only get a few sentences out. “It’s been a long journey,” he said, with lips trembling. “I’m here and managed to win at Cheltenham, I can’t believe it. I’ve been coming here 20 years with the same friends, just to have a runner, and it was 1/2 , the pressure and the hype.”

Reflecting on that day again this week, he added: “Listen, to only have two horses in training and to win a Grade 1 race at Cheltenham with one of them, it’s a million to one chance,” he said. “I know how hard it is just to get a horse to the start at Cheltenham. So much can go wrong. Remember Chacun Pour Soi – he was odds-on for the Champion Chase in 2020 until he got a foot abscess on the morning of the race. He was fine the day after but had to be withdrawn on the day.”

At time of writing Ballyburn is the 6/4 favourite for the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase on Wednesday. He comes into the race off an impressive performance at the Dublin Racing Festival over two miles and five furlongs, having been outpointed by the speedy Sir Gino over two miles at Kempton’s Christmas meeting.

Speaking after that race, Manasseh said: “We got a tonking over Christmas and I started to read social media comments about Ballyburn. We took some abuse, people saying he can’t jump, and I started to believe what I was reading but fortunately the horse can’t read. He jumped beautifully.”

Asked how racing compares to the world of professional football, David says there are similarities. “Like football players, horses have a pre-season, a season and an off-season. Every time a horse runs it’s about the equivalent of 10 games.”

Warming to the theme, he adds: “The Dublin Racing Festival is like the FA Cup Semi Final at Wembley and Cheltenham is the Cup Final,” he says. “And Punchestown is the Champions League!”

We’ve seen quite a few football personalities get involved in racehorse ownership in recent years. Sir Alex Ferguson and Michael Owen are probably the two best-known examples.

David commented: “I know a good few players who have shares in racehorses – the Brighton lads did well with a horse named Seagulls Eleven on the flat last season – but I prefer the jumps.

“The flat doesn’t really suit me because all the big meetings are on in high summer when the transfer window is open and that’s my busiest time.

“Cheltenham falls at just the right time. I take a box there for the week and it’s a good place to meet players and sporting directors, as well as all my friends. It’s a sociable week.”

Another Festival win for Ballyburn would be amazing and the fact that the ground at Cheltenham is said to be drying up this week won’t do any harm to his chances.

David believes the good weather is also good news for Ronnie Bartlett’s other Cheltenham runners Galvin and Banbridge, so watch out for those dark blue and white diamonds with the red cap next week.

In the meantime David just has to keep his phone switched off for a few days and think about what he will say to the TV cameras if Ballyburn delivers on the big stage once again.