JP McManus' three best chances at the Cheltenham Festival

There are few more recognisable owners than JP McManus, who is usually the leading owner on both sides of the Irish Sea, and his familiar green and gold silks are synonymous with National Hunt racing.

He has trainers working for him all over Britain and Ireland and he's not afraid to splash the cash. This means that he's one of the most important people to follow at the Cheltenham Festival, as he's all but guaranteed to have some massive chances across the four days.

Here are his three best chances of landing a winner and they include a Champion Chase candidate who absolutely bolted up at the Dublin Racing Festival last time out.

Mighty Park - Turners or Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

The Willie Mullins-trained Mighty Park left a very good impression when winning a maiden hurdle over two miles at Fairyhouse on stable debut. This son of Walk In The Park is closely related to the very useful chaser Might Bite, who won the King George back in 2017.

Starting off in a point-to-point at Quakerstown, Mighty Park finished second and the winner has boosted the form by winning a couple of times over hurdles. Anyone who witnessed his maiden hurdle victory would have been impressed, as he appeared to be on another level.

Mullins' gelding made all the running under Mark Walsh and the further they went, the bigger the gap became. It's not too often that horses win by 38 lengths on their first starts over hurdles and whilst he has options open to him, the Turners is the most likely target.

Majborough - Queen Mother Champion Chase

One thing a Champion Chaser has to do is jump well and for much of the season, it looked like Majborough was likely to let himself down in that department. Poor jumping cost him the Arkle last season and he looked way off it on that front at Cork and Leopardstown.

It was a completely different story at the Dublin Racing Festival however, as the six-year-old bounced back to his very best when utilising more positive tactics. Jumping and travelling like a dream throughout, he never looked like losing and managed to score by 19 lengths.

A similar performance at Cheltenham would obviously make him very hard to beat, especially as he put reigning champion Marine Nationale firmly in his place. Majborough is still a young horse and it's entirely possible that there’s more to come.

Fact To File - Gold Cup or Ryanair Chase

Fact To File doesn't look like the most straightforward horse to train, which must be frustrating as he has all the ability in the world when at his best. He returned to winning ways with an excellent performance in the Irish Gold Cup last time out.

Mullins' nine-year-old probably won't get a better chance of winning the Gold Cup, so it's easy to see why connections would be tempted. A repeat success in the Ryanair would be all but guaranteed on that form, however, and either race is a legitimate target.

Already a two-time Cheltenham Festival winner, he claimed the Brown Advisory two seasons ago and was an impressive winner of the Ryanair last year. Clearly he performs well at Cheltenham and that suggests connections can expect a big run in either race.