The McManus Operation?

C

Colin Phillips

At the Start
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This is not meant to knock JP but a genuine attempt to understand what the whole set-up is about.

I realise that he is a very rich man and it is probably a rich man's hobby but what an expensive hobby.

I had a look at the figures for the last full season 2009/10:

He had 161 horses in training in GB, they had 605 runs, 98 wins, 167 placed and total prize money of £1, 753, 310 (a better than average year for prize money, probably down to the Grand National win)

In Ireland 156 horses, 507 runs, 49 wins, 118 placed, total prize money £776, 550.

So that's 317 horses in training (excluding horses that have run on the flat), that's a hell of a lot of training fees.

He probably isn't too concerned about the cost (from what I've read) but I'm still having difficulty understanding why he needs or wants so many horses running in his colours, a lot of them aren't very good. Is it just a philanthropic enterprise in that he feels the trainers he uses need the fees?:confused:

Is it the scattergun approach, in that if he has lots of horses there must be a bigger chance of getting a champion?

As I say I find it difficult to know what he gets out of the exercise.

I understand that he loves his horses and looks after some in their retirement but he can't do that for 300+, surely.

And it is difficult to think that he has a connection to each and every horse, something that I would want if I ever owned a horse.

Again, this is not criticism of the operation just an attempt to find out if anyone else can explain what they think JP gets out of it.
 
I remember being very impressed by the fact he bought Flagship Uberalles even though he was plainly on the downgrade.
 
In comparison to the Gigginstown operation you would have to say it falls short. Look at the amount of very decent horses O'Leary has - very few lower grade animals compared to some of the muck McManus has!! I cannot understand some of the McManus purchases and why he persists with some of the absolutely brutal yokes he has....:confused::confused:
 
Putting very round numbers on it - I reckon he is losing somewhere in the region of £30,500 per week - annually close to £1.6 million and thats before you include any figures for purchasing / breeding or the many "staff" like Berry,McCoy, Irish Stamp's buddy McLernon etc. etc. --- philantropic or just plain crazy....:whistle:
 
He gets it all back from the 100 rated Flat horses he buys and then get given hurdles ratings of 90 by David Dickinson after 3 runs down the field at the gaffs. He sticks 'em in at Towcester when they're ready, and then all he needs is a friendly bookie who'll lay him a bet of £3m to £1m that they get the job done. Simples.
 
I definitely think there is a degree of philanthropy involved. Ardross has mentioned Flagship Uberalles, for which McManus paid big money in order to rescue a great horse in his twilight years from an idiot.

He also intervenes to buy horses that are promising, like Captain Cee Bee. They are left in situ and he doesn't interfere with running plans. If these horses do well the trainer gets sent another horse or two. Carrigmartin, winner of a nice handicap yesterday for Eddie Harty, is a case in point.

He spreads his resources evenly between the UK and Ireland, he buys privately and at the sales and is an important owner in dozens of stables, many of which in the current economic climate would go under without him.
 
It is strange alright. How he allows himself to be associated with some of the crappy gambles of Christy Roche and to a lesser extent Charlie Swan always amazes me.

I am sure that they are decent skins, etc., but what kind of a thrill can McManus get from seeing Christy send a 110 hurdler to a handicap off 100 and come third backed in from 7/1 to 5/1?
 
I'm not convinced he's the shrewdest gambler in the world, he seems highly reliant on shrewd trainers giving him the nod. Most of his horses aren't with shrewd trainers.
 
Is there any way in which he gets tax breaks with the operation? I can see that if you run at a loss year after year, you won't pay any tax at all. Whether you've made a loss of £1,000 or £1,000,000 - it's all about ratio. If he had nothing but fine animals which brought him a steady income stream, there'd be tax to pay back on the profits. If you smother the fine animals with a heap of 'yokes', then overall you make a loss but don't pay tax.

Actually, even that doesn't make any sense to me! :blink:
 
From what I've heard McManus is very loyal which is why he often perseveres with even the yokes. He campaigns a lot of them in hunter chases, he seems very keen on that field which I think is a good thing even if many in the pointing world don't. His horses often get beaten in hunter chases which must surely be a source of pleasure to those amateurs beating them. Plenty of 1, 2, 3 horse [or more!] amateur trainers would be more than happy to beat a 'JP yoke' anyday.
 
First gold, karabak, barracuda, Flagship Uberalles.

Thought they were bought quite near the festival :confused:
 
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