The current Cheltenham odds are still in favour of owner JP McManus despite removing three of his handicap contenders, namely De Name Escapes Me, Ivanovich Gorbatov and Jezki. McManus said his team was not glad about how the cross-channel handicapper treated these horses in relation to the other Irish horses.
Former Triumph hero Ivanovich Gorbatov had been among the fancies for the County Hurdle, while former Champion Hurdle winner Jezki would have been entered in the Coral or County Cup. De Name Escapes Me is originally planned to participate in the Coral Cup as well. Without them, Buveur D’Air, the reigning Champion Hurdler, will head McManus’ team in the Cheltenham Festival.
Even with three horses out of McManus’ team, he is still expected to triumph over Michael O’Leary, his rival, for the leading owner award at Cheltenham. This was first awarded for the past two years, with O’Leary winning both as well as winning seven times in 2018. However, compared to O’Leary’s 26 wins, McManus still gets the title of the most successful owner in the history of Cheltenham Festival races with a total of 54 wins.
With other ante-post favourites like Defi Du Seuil and Champ, McManus still have a 4-7 shot at being the top owner in some ante-post lists.
All details of this post were gathered from https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/racing/jp-mcmanus-still-odds-on-to-be-leading-owner-at-cheltenham-festival-1.3814064. To learn more, click the link.
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