McManus has ‘no plans’ to replace Geraghty

JP McMANUS’S racing manager Frank Berry has repeated there are no plans to replace Barry Geraghty as retained rider for the famous owner in England.

The McManus team will continue to use the best jockeys for their horses which are scattered around a host of top trainers, including Nicky Henderson, Paul Nicholls, Jonjo O’Neill, Philip Hobbs, Alan King and Harry Fry.

On this side of the Irish Sea, Mark Walsh has continued to be retained by McManus since Geraghty retired in July. “There are no plans at all. Everything is the same as it was. We are carrying on as normal,” said Berry.

One of the big rides up for grabs this season will be Epatante, whose main aim will be to hang on to her Champion Hurdle crown. The Henderson-trained mare was one of five winners for Geraghty at last season’s Cheltenham Festival.

“Nicky is very happy with her. We don’t know where she will start off. She has a good few options. We’ll see when she’s ready,” said Berry. “The Champion Hurdle is definitely the target.”

Berry reported Buveur D’Air to be well on the road to recovery after being injured when bidding to win the Fighting Fifth Hurdle for the third year running at Newcastle in November.

Meanwhile, Paul Nolan’s star chaser Discorama begins a new campaign at Galway today. The seven-year-old was last seen finishing third in the Ultima Handicap Chase in March.

Nolan is looking forward to seeing Discorama make his seasonal reappearance under Bryan Cooper, with a tilt at Grand National glory at Aintree on the radar. “He’s in good shape,” he said. “We haven’t been able to give him a gallop on grass as the ground has been too good, but he’s as fit as we can get him at home and we’re looking forward to getting him started.”