ON a marquee weekend of National Hunt racing in both Britain and Ireland, J.P. McManus will have eyes everywhere as he is responsible for a total of 13 representatives at the Navan Racing Festival and six more across the final two days of the Cheltenham November Meeting.

The three-day Cotswolds meeting got off to the best possible start for the green and gold when Jonbon recorded win number 21 of his career in the Shloer Chase under Harry Cobden on Friday. The same rider will get the leg up on long-standing ante-post favourite Meetmebythesea in today’s £160,000 Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase (2.20) - a bloodless winner of the Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase when last seen at the Festival in March.

That form could hardly have worked out any better. Nearly five lengths behind the clear-cut winner in second was Gold Dancer - a Grade 1 winner next time at Aintree where he sadly suffered a fatal injury in the process. Third-placed Regent’s Stroll was runner-up in that same Grade 1 Mildmay Novices’ Chase on Merseyside, while fourth was the Galway Plate hero King Alexander.

Back in fifth was Kiss Will, still travelling kindly when coming down at the third last in the Irish Grand National next time out, and even the sixth-placed runner, Slade Steel, captured a Grade 2 hurdle on his next start at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival.

“Meetmebythesea couldn’t be better ahead of the Paddy Power Gold Cup and he has been trained for the race,” said trainer Ben Pauling.

“He goes to Cheltenham ready and he’s in very, very good order. The ground should be absolutely fine for him, and hopefully we will get a clean run round.”

Closer to home, Majborough is one of the star attractions at Navan in today’s Grade 2 Bar 1 Betting Fortria Chase (2.43) - bidding to get back on track after a season that was derailed when bombing out as 5/6 favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase in March. He failed to fire again at the Punchestown Festival, but had been at his spectacular best previously when pulverising his Dublin Racing Festival rivals by 19 lengths.

“He lost his way a little bit in the spring and is on a comeback mission basically, but Willie [Mullins] seems happy with him,” said McManus’ racing manager Frank Berry.

“In an ideal world we would like a bit more rain, but he’s declared and we’ll see how we go. His form is there in the book and he’s a good horse. Yes, it hasn’t happened on a few occasions for him, but we hope we can get him back in good form and see where the season takes us.”

Exciting novice

McManus’ shortest-priced runner of the day is expected to come in the two-mile-one-furlong Jimmy & Sheila Owens Irish EBF Beginners Chase (3.18), a race won 12 months ago by Kopek Des Bordes. From the same stable, Mighty Park looks the main contender this time around. This will be the imposing five-year-old’s first start since finishing down the field in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on just his second start over hurdles.

Berry said: “Without a doubt he is one we are looking forward to. He won his maiden hurdle well and ran okay at Cheltenham; he was just a little bit raw and inexperienced. He missed Christmas and was then just thrown in at the deep end a bit over hurdles.

“He’s had a good break, Willie is happy with him and it’s a starting-off place. It’s quite a good race and the novice races are very hot at the minute, but it would be nice to see him put in a good round of jumping and we’ll see how we get on.”

On Sunday, Harry Lowes, trained by Dan Skelton, will be a selection for many in the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle (3.10), while there will hopes of a big-handicap brace shortly beforehand in the Bar 1 Betting Troytown Handicap Chase (3.00). Four of the 18 runners declared for the €100,000 Navan feature will don the green and gold: The Wallpark (Gordon Elliott), Perceval Legallois (Gavin Cromwell), Win Some Lose Some (Padraig Roche) and Uhavemeinstitches (James Motherway).

The champion owner has another high-class runner earlier on the card in the shape of Kopeck De Mee, out to follow in the footsteps of Final Demand - last year’s winner of the Race And Stay Irish EBF Beginners Chase (2.25).