Mangan reflects on colourful owner Futter's passing Jimmy Mangan reflected on the recent passing of his pivotal owner Mike Futter at Cork today, following the success of the trainer’s Pure Steel (4/5 fav) in the opening Annual Membership Available Maiden Hurdle. Five-year-old winning point-to-pointer Pure Steel made all under Mark Walsh when scoring by 1.75 lengths from Luker’s Tipple, to add to Mangan’s recent good record for owner J.P. McManus. Following the race, Mangan reflected on another of his owners Futter, who passed away three days ago, and who owned the trainer’s Grand National hero Monty’s Pass. Futter landed estimated betting winnings of £800,000 following that famous 2003 race and today Mangan reported “I’d never have won the National only for Mike Futter as Monty’s Pass would not pass a vet for anybody but he rang me up and said ‘if he’s healthy, I don’t want any vet near him’. He bought him on my word over the phone and the rest is history. “Mike was a colourful character and gave me full control of what I wanted to do with the horse. After he finished second in the Topham Trophy, I knew then I had a horse for the National. “I hadn’t much connections with him afterwards but some of the syndicate were involved in Whinstone Boy with me and I won the Thyestes Chase for them and Mike went other places.” Regarding today’s winner Pure Steel, Mangan added “Mark (Walsh) said he wants further and he needs a bit of time as well. He jumped the roadway at one stage so is still a young green horse. “We couldn’t get him out in the autumn with it being so dry as on tight ground I wouldn’t chance him. “The trainer of the second horse says he is going for the Fred Winter (Hurdle at Cheltenham) so more power to him and we’ll probably head to either Naas or Navan next as they are the two tracks which would suit him.”
