John P. McManus - Owner Profile

J P McManus is a shrewd business man and race horse owner from Ireland. A varied early career which started with working in the family construction firm, moved into becoming an on course bookmaker, and then eventually to owning racehorses. This latter goal was aided in the early days (1982) by the purchase of the 400 acres Martinstown Stud.

Fast forwrad to today and J P McmManus has 100+ horses in training. Some stand outs over time include Ista braq (three time Champion Hurdle winner), 'Don't Push It' who, ridden by champion jockey Tony McCoy, won the Grand National in 2010, and Synchronised who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2012. Champion jockey Tony McCoy was stable jockey for much of his career, and since his retirement Barry Geraghty, who himself has 1000+ wins, took over that role.

McManus has never lost his passion for racing and when he has a target in his sights he pours everything into it. In August of this year, he launched an unheard of eleven pronged attack on  the Guinness Galway Hurdle, which he hoped to win for the third time. With just 20 horses in the race he certainly gave himself a good chance of winning with his 11 entries split across 5 trainers. Unfortunately for him it wasn't to be as Willie Mullins' 12-1 shot Sharjah bagged the win. It's certainly an example of his desire to win though, perhaps to an almost comical extent.

His success in racing and other areas of business has allowed McManus to really branch out in terms of both lifestyle and ventures. He spent a stunning 150 million euros on building a house in Barbados and also owned 28.89% of Manchester United at one stage with his business partner John Magnier. They sold their stake to Malcolm Glazier, a decision they're probably quite happy with nowadays considering the recent form of Manchester United. His estimated net worth is some 4 billion euros. Can I borrow a fiver?