WATCH: JP McManus claims Leading Owner award at Cheltenham Festival with final day double

LEADING Limerick owner JP McManus celebrated his fourth and fifth winners of the week at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival on Friday to claim the leading owner award at the meeting once again.

McManus initiated his brace when Majborough announced himself as a star of the future as he toughed it out to land a Willie Mullins dominated JCB Triumph Hurdle. McManus' green and gold hoop colours were back in the winners' enclosure later on Friday afternoon when silks Limerick Lace won the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase for trainer Gavin Cromwell.

The leading National Hunt owner finished the four-day Festival with a tally of five winners, six seconds and two thirds.

McManus has seen his famed green and gold silks carried to success 78 times at the Cheltenham Festival.

Majborough's one and a half length victory at odds of 6/1 was McManus’ third win in the Triumph Hurdle following the victories of Ivanovich Gorbatov and Defi Du Seuil and it continues the Closutton dominance of the race, with Mullins winning it for the fourth time in five years.

Seven-year-old Limerick Lace held on to see off the challenge of Dinoblue, also owned by McManus, by three-quarters of a length in the Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase.

Willie Mullins, trainer of Majborough said: “I’m surprised at his price of 6-1 – I expected him to be favourite, he was my pick of this race.

A 1-2 for JP McManus

Limerick Lace sees off Dinoblue in a thrilling Mrs @paddypower Mares' Chase pic.twitter.com/aoDsS0zQAf

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 15, 2024

“A lot of mine have been improving all season for their second run. I couldn’t get him out at Christmas, but I got him out at the Dublin Racing Festival and I think he needed that and I think Mark learned a lot about him.

“He came back in and said he was going to make all the running on him next time, which was the plan today and he was only fifth or sixth going round, so that shows how strong the pace was, but he jumped beautifully.

“When he came in the yard and they said he was a Triumph hope, I thought he looked more like a Gold Cup horse – he’s some beast.”

He went on: “Physically, he looks like a three-mile chaser.

“He’s a bit angular (at the moment) like all the French horses, but when he comes in from a summer’s grass he’s some beast.

“Who knows how good he could be? Sometimes with Triumph Hurdle horses, their juvenile year can be their best year, but this fellow is so untypical of that.

Big day for the green & gold begins with Majborough landing the Triumph Hurdle for Mark Walsh, Willie Mullins & JP McManus pic.twitter.com/UHHp2ft9VL

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 15, 2024

“He’s a big, jumping horse and normally you’d be going novice chasing next season. It’s not easy going novice chasing with a horse that young, but we’ll see.”

Trainer Gavin Cromwell said of Limerick Lace: “That was fantastic. Keith was very good on her as she’s not straightforward. She’s a bit of a madam and she nearly kicked a cameraman on her way out. She’s broken a lot of white rail at home. She's a bit of a lady, but you don't mind when they are as good as that.

“I’m delighted for Keith and for everybody. He turned it into as much of a test as he could as she stays really well and was second in the Troytown. She’s a full sister to yesterday’s winner of the Kim Muir, Inothewayurthinkin. I’m sure it’s happened before but I don’t suppose it’s happened too often.

“On the day over the two and a half it probably played more to her strengths than to Dino Blue’s, as she’s very speedy, but they are two very good mares.

She's in the Grand National, and I suppose that's a possibility.“

On the satisfaction of training winners for JP McManus and how far this mare could go in future, he said: “Brilliant, it’s fantastic. I can’t say enough. We are at the top, I’m just delighted. She is in the National as well, so we will see how she comes out of here. It’s all about today.”