Trainer Enda Bolger praises JP McManus as having the 'biggest heart in the world'
Bolger and McManus have enjoyed many great days together over the years, notably at the Cheltenham Festival
Trainer Enda Bolger has praised JP McManus as having the "biggest heart in the world".
Bolger and McManus have enjoyed many great days together over the years, notably at the Cheltenham Festival.
Kilkenny man Bolger trained and rode Elegant Lord to victory in the colours of McManus in the 1996 Foxhunters at Cheltenham.
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And with horses like Spot Thedifference, Garde Champetre, L’Ami, Josies Orders and Heads Onthe Ground, the pair dominated the Cross Country race for many years.
Bolger, speaking to BoyleSports, said: “JP has the biggest heart in the world. There are so many people in the racing world who have benefited from his support.
"But what this man does behind the scenes and in other sports, is unbelievable.
“He is so involved in the GAA and golf and charity goes out to people who really need it.
"He is an astonishing human being. I have never heard another man say anything negative about JP. There is not a better man in the world.
“He is an unbelievable horse lover and he gives his horses time. That is why a lot of them have done so well.
"He would take them out of training and take them back to his farm so they could strengthen up, whereas other people would be anxious and say run them again in a couple of weeks’ time. He’d say, ’No.’
“You have a better horse for that. And 99% of the time he is right. That’s what I love about him.
"He gives his horses so much time. And when they retire they live in five star luxury. Any horse that races in the green and gold colors are lucky boys.”
A new rule has been introduced into Irish national hunt racing to prohibit the 'big four' trainers - Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Henry de Bromhead and Gavin Cromwell - from entering horses into 60 races that will be confined to trainers who have saddled fewer than 50 winners in the code in either of the previous two seasons.
Mullins and company had been reported to be considering legal action over the new initiative, but Bolger believes that the change is needed in order to help Ireland's smaller trainers.
“It didn’t go down too well with the ‘Big Four’, but they’ve definitely got the backing of the smaller trainers, of which there are hundreds.
“The likes of Gordon (Elliott), who has so many good chasers, ends up going down the cross country route. That puts me at a disadvantage because I don’t have the same rated horses as I used to.
“60 races excluding them is a great idea. It will be a level playing field and nobody will have any gripes.
“You won’t be coming up against any €400k horses who blow you apart when you take them on.”
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