JP McManus had a dream introduction to the fraught world of racehorse ownership. Surprisingly his first venture was on the flat.

Just 26 years old, he bought a mare named Cill Dara, trained by Con Collins on the Curragh, who had won the Cesarewitch the previous year. He went on to repeat this victory in 1977.

Another flat horse was Cooleen Jack, named by JP after his good friend and neighbour John McDonough of Cooleen House. He came as an ‘add-on’ to another deal, but trained by Edward O’Grady, he proved a top class sprinter winning the Ballyogan Stakes at the Curragh before being narrowly beaten in the Prix de L’Abbaye at Longchamp.

JP then sent the horse to the then unknown trainer, John Gosden, who was training in California at that time. It proved a propitious move as he did well Stateside and was sold for a really decent price.

I asked JP, having enjoyed such initial success on the flat, why he didn’t stick with it? “I didn’t have as much interest in the flat, National Hunt appealed more to me and it was where I wanted to be,” came his reply.

Edward O’Grady tells the story of one day back in 1978 out of the blue receiving a phone call from a young Limerick man, someone then unknown to him, one JP McManus. They were both just in their mid-20s, Edward on his way to becoming champion trainer, JP going on to become a colossus of National Hunt racing.

JP had money and he wanted to buy a National Hunt horse who could take him all the way to Cheltenham - music to the ears of any young trainer. The first two horses bought were Jack Of Trumps, owned by Edward’s uncle the legendary PP Hogan, and Deep Gale.

These two young men - Edward brought up in the world of top class National Hunt racing, and JP, the new boy on the block - proved a formidable combination, taking a devilish delight in giving the bookies a good hiding.

Come Cheltenham, JP decided it was going to be Deep Gale’s day and he was supported accordingly with Niall ‘Boots’ Madden on board. Edward recalls Deep Gale on the final circuit with the only question being by how far he would win.

The fence after the water however had different ideas as Deep Gale slipped on landing and suddenly it was Boots on the ground rather than Boots in the saddle. The jockey landed on his feet and made a valiant attempt to catch his horse and remount, but the horse just got away from him.

Boots later claimed that if he could have caught Deep Gale, he would still have won but the history of racing is littered with ‘ifs’. Jack Of Trumps had fared little better the previous year but as Edward later recalled, JP must have iced water in his veins as, on both occasions, they went out and celebrated just as if the two horses had won.

These setbacks would have daunted lesser men but JP is made of sterner stuff. The McManus’ were never quitters... wasn’t his uncle Owen the longest serving miner ever back in Arigna - which was generally accepted as one of the toughest and most back-breaking jobs on the planet, making the Siberian Salt mines look like a week at Butlins.

Hall of Fame

Then Edward O’Grady had Mister Donovan who had shown prospects but no less an authority than Demi O’Byrne had spun him for a bad heart murmur but JP bought him nevertheless.

“Were you worried by the murmur?” I asked. A quizzical look from JP was followed by, “I just liked the horse and Edward had recommended him highly.”

Mister Donovan proved to be JP’s entry into the Hall of Fame when, at a price of 9/2, he won the 1982 Sun Alliance Hurdle, now known as the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle.

But if Mr Donovan was the alchemist - the alchemists of ancient times were credited with the ability to turn base metal into gold - Mr Donovan’s feat was no less as spectacular. It turned a racing enthusiast into a racing legend who would dominate the sport.

Having won everything there is to win (and most on numerous occasions), I asked JP did he ever think of retiring from the turf? He gave me one of those special JP looks and said: “Not really, I get just as much thrill from it now as I ever did.”

Enda Bolger describes his first introduction to JP. “It was through PP Hogan in 1984, who I was riding for at the time. He and Mrs McManus always had a point-to-point horse with PP. I have been incredibly lucky ever since both in hunter chasing and normal chasing. I really get a great kick from bringing on and making his young horses and watching them go on to greater things.

“He is particularly good to give young people opportunities, providing that they work hard. He loves to see them doing well. The young riders feel privileged to wear JP’s colours. As a rider if you acknowledge that you made a mistake, he is forgiving and quickly moves on.

“One fond memory of mine is when he came to my mother’s funeral and arrived by helicopter landing in the GAA field in Graiguenamanagh. Not many people would have seen a helicopter up close in 1997. My aunt whispered in my ear, ‘Wouldn’t she (my mother, Molly) get some kick out of this!’ We all burst out laughing – just the tonic we needed at the time. He brings joy to people without even knowing it.”

Enda describes JP as an exceptionally astute race-reader as they would often sit watching racing of an evening, be it a listed race from Leopardstown or a maiden hurdle in Ballinrobe. JP would sum it up and almost always would be proven right even by that hard task master that is time.

Sharing good fortune

After moving to Martinstown, JP’s thoughts turned to giving back some of his good fortune to the community which nurtured him and which he never left. His first major venture was the Golf Pro-Am played in Limerick Golf Club in 1990, just a few hundred yards from where he grew up.

The A-listers of the world queued to take part and it raised much needed funds for local charities. The Pro Am was again staged in Ballyclough in 1995 and 2000 with Tiger Woods the star attraction on the latter occasion.

This was followed in 2005 and 2010 with even bigger events held in Adare Manor, again featuring Tiger and most of the world’s top golfers. These highly successful Pro-Ams allowed JP to fund major projects such as the Oncology Wing at Limerick University Hospital, the extension of Limerick’s Milford Hospice and so much more.

The McManus name does not appear on any plaque or sign in any of these funded ventures but a keen detective might find a racing picture tucked away. Now the owner of Adare Manor, JP had planned a further event in 2020 but Covid-19 intervened.

The JP McManus Benevolent Fund, which is very ably and fairly chaired by his daughter Sue-Ann Foley of Islanmore Stud, has helped many deserving causes throughout the Mid-West. Unlike most charities, all administration costs are covered by the family and all of the fund makes its way to where it is needed. Sue-Ann is assisted by a voluntary committee which includes Mark Power and Helen O’Donnell.

Helen takes up the story. “JP pre-loaded the fund with a once-off donation of €40 million. It allowed us to support the Women’s Refuge, the Robotic Operating Theatre in Limerick Regional, the Moor Haven Centre in Tipperary Town, plus a host of smaller and lesser known community projects which if listed would fill the page. This fund is almost exhausted but there are plenty more plans in the pipeline.

“There is hardly a charity or a sporting event in the greater Limerick area that has not been supported with contributions, ranging from millions down to a couple of thousands, all absolutely game-changers to the charity or project involved.”

JP’s business enterprises are well recorded in the financial pages running from shareholding in Manchester United, to Sandy Lane Hotel with John Magnier, a chain of pubs, nursing homes and so much more.

Special horses

Were we to even attempt to list JP’s many successes on the turf, it would not just fill the page but the whole paper. However, there are two special horses which can’t be overlooked.

The 2021 renewal of the Randox Grand National at Aintree saw JP back in the winner’s enclosure for the second time with Minella Times (11/1) after a brilliant and foot-perfect ride from Rachael Blackmore.

Trainer Henry de Bromhead with jockey Rachael Blackmore after winning the 2021 Randox Grand National at Aintree with the JP McManus-owned Minella Times \ Healy Racing

Then, of course, there is the great Istabraq, winner of three consecutive Champion Hurdles in the Cotswolds. Bred in the purple by Sadler’s Wells, he had been produced by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and trained by John Gosden in Newmarket. The horse just wasn’t making it to the top on the flat and he was put on the market only to be spotted by John Durcan, then assistant to Gosden but soon to go it alone as a trainer.

It was then Tim Hyde came into the deal. Very much in the mould of PP Hogan, Tim had been a top class National Hunt jockey, a dyed-in-the-wool hunting man who was gifted with an extraordinary eye for a horse. Tim, who was John Durcan’s father-in-law, put the deal together where JP would buy Istabraq to be trained by John.

However fate intervened, young John unfortunately became ill, and the horse, on John’s recommendation, was sent to Ballydoyle to be trained by the genius that is Aidan O’Brien.

Sadly John died before Istabraq won the 1998 Irish Champion Hurdle. Charlie Swan rode the horse in all his 29 starts and he entered the history books by completing the hat-trick of three Champion Hurdles 1998, 1999, and the millennial running in 2000 in Cheltenham. There was no race in 2001 due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease and the great horse pulled up in 2002 before being retired back to Martinstown.

Pictured at Cheltenham 1998, Istabraq and Charlie Swan winning their first Champion Hurdle for owner JP McManus and trainer Aidan O'Brien \ Healy Racing

As I sit at my computer writing this, the Limerick Leader has featured a 29th birthday tribute to the great horse, still happily enjoying the glorious paddocks at Martinstown. May he enjoy many more years in marvellous Martinstown.

More importantly, I’m sure all readers will join with me in wishing JP and Noreen long life, good health, and many many more Festival winners well into the century.