Johnnywho (18-1) gave owner JP McManus a second birthday 75th birthday present when winning the £150,000 Trustmarque Ultima Handicap Chase. His famous green and gold silks had been carried to victory in the preceding contest by 10-1 chance Saratoga.
With his half-length defeat of 3-1 Favourite Jagwar, also owned by McManus, Johnnywho is from the stable of Jonjo and AJ O’Neill and therefore is the first Festival winner to be saddled by a training partnership.
JP McManus said: “It’s unbelievable to have a double here, and with Richie riding him too. He rode a winner of this same race for me a few years ago on Alfie Sherin (2012). It’s great to have him riding winners at the Festival again.”
AJ O’Neill said: “Absolutely fantastic. Richie gave him a great ride, he was in the right place all the time. It’s just great to see it all work out.
“He just missed out on winning last year in the Kim Muir and it’s great to come back and set that straight.”
Jonjo O’Neill said: “Richie has done a great job for us since the day he came. He’s a great rider, a great judge and a lovely fellow to be around – what more do you want? A few good horses for him to ride and everybody is happy.”
Richie McLernon said: “It’s a long time since my other Festival wins - when you get them, they're special and they’re hard to get. You forget how hard they are to get, and when you do you appreciate them. It feels like a lifetime ago - you come back every year hoping. I’ve only got one bullet to fire this week, but luckily we hit the target.
“They’ve done a super job at home, Jonjo rides him all the time, and I’m just lucky to be on board today. I’m thrilled, and for the O’Neills as well, who have been long-time supporters of mine.
“He jumped and travelled well, the ground was dry enough I thought. We went a nice gallop and he was very unlucky here last year, he missed the last a bit and this time I just took aim at the last and it helped him. He just made one mistake - he was a bit slow at the third-last, but he was economic - he’s not the biggest horse in the world. The cheekpieces, the tongue-tie and the wind op have definitely helped.
“I was ecstatic crossing the line. This is the place we want to ride winners.
“AJ has put in a fierce amount of work; the owners are trusting him with the good horses and he’s committed to it and he’s getting the results. I’ve known him pretty much all his life - I’ve been there 20 years - so it’s super, and it’s a privilege to ride his first Festival winner.”
Oliver Greenall, joint-trainer of runner-up Jagwar, said: “The track was maybe a bit quick and the track possibly little bit sharp for Iroko. Maybe there was something amiss,but we’ll get him right. He finished well but he couldn’t lay up.
“Jagwar looked like he stayed but he made the odd mistake. We’ll have a look (at the Grand National).”
Paul Nicholls, trainer of the third Quebecois, said: “I’m thrilled with that and we’ll have to see now whether we keep him a novice for next season or try and win a nice race this spring. I was going to put him in the Scottish National as novices have a good record in it. I probably still will, but there’s a novice chase there too.
“The thing is that if you win now, you are still a novice until December. I was always thinking he’d be the sort of horse for the Coral Cup, as he goes well left-handed on decent ground, and he’s shown today that after the summer he’ll be up there with those horses. His jumping is great and that was a fantastic run.”
JP McManus – 86 Festival wins
Jonjo & AJ O’Neill – 1 Festival wins (Jonjo had 27 as sole licence holder)
Richie McLernon – 4 Festival wins
