Who Will Be JP McManus' Next Number One Rider?

J P McManus

On Saturday night the racing world was shocked to see that legendary jumps rider Barry Geraghty had announced his retirement from the saddle and now we have looked into who will become the number one rider for the well known national hunt owner.

There are currently plenty of names in the hat to take over from Geraghty next season with McManus giving chances to many different jockeys during his owning career.

mcmanus

Paddy Power have priced up some leading riders that are in the frame to take over the huge responsibility of riding McManus' horses, with the top three jockeys in the market all riding a number of winners in the yellow and green silks last season.

Mark Walsh has been installed as the 11/10 favourite being the number one rider for the owner in Ireland and when coming over for the big festivals in England, normally getting to ride his second strings.

Aidan Coleman, like Walsh would ride the Irish owners second string of runners but in England and that is also a similar case for Jonjo O'Neill Jnr who has normally only sat on JP's runners if his dad was the trainer.

Richard Johnson over the years of his career has been known to sit aboard the likes of Defi Du Seuil for the owner and is currently 8/1 in the market.

Last season's champion jockey in Britain Brian Hughes is currently 25/1 and it would be a huge shock if he was the man called up for the job with not much of a prior relationship between him and McManus.

These are the current names in the hat but with it very much up in the air we will have to wait for decision from the experienced owner who managed to have his most successful Cheltenham festival last season.

Barry Geraghty will be a huge miss to the sport being at the top of the game for many years an whoever gets the chance to fill his boots will have a huge task on his hands to match his level of ability.