JP McManus snaps up 16/1 Champion Bumper horse and sends her to Willie Mullins

JP McManus is always busy at this time of year and he has made another eye-catching purchase. The horse in question won a bumper at Gowran by 28 lengths for previous connections and you can see why he has snapped her up. Willie Mullins is taking over the training duties and 16/1 is the best price currently available for the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival.

Here we take a look at the horse’s profile and consider her chances if lining up at Cheltenham next month. Check out our free tips page for daily content and our ante-post Cheltenham Festival picks are live now.

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Cheltenham here we come?

Aqua Force made only one start for previous connections and produced a mightily impressive performance to win at Gowran. She took up the running with around five furlongs to go and pulled clear impressively in the final couple to score by a massive margin of 28 lengths, despite going off at 20/1.

The way in which she immediately put the race to bed when quickening in the final two furlongs was very eye-catching. This daughter of Workforce showed a great turn of foot and she clearly possesses a huge engine, two things that would serve her well if Cheltenham is indeed on the agenda.

Willie Mullins now trains five of the first eight in the market for the Champion Bumper and Game of Inches currently leads the way. Bambino Fever is probably the most comparable of the bunch, having won a Grade 2 bumper for mares at the Dublin Racing Festival. On the evidence of Aqua Force’s win however, you’d have to prefer McManus’ new purchase, provided it wasn’t a fluke.


If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.


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Bet €10 Get €70 In Free Bets + €120 For Cheltenham
18+. IRE/NI new customers only. €/£70 in FREE Bets (FB) as €/£60 in sports bets & a €/£10 casino bonus (CB). Min Deposit €/£10. Min stake €/£10. Min odds Evs. FB applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. FB 7-day expiry. 1 FB offer per customer, household & IP address only. Account & Payment restrictions. 14 days to accept €/£10 CB, then active for 3 days. CB 5x wagering & max redeemable €/£100. Game restrictions apply. Cashed out/Free Bets won't apply. 30 days to qualify. T&Cs Apply. *18+. UK & IRE online only. Runs 10/2/25–9/3/25. Place & settle £/€10+ bets at min odds of 1/1 on specified sports. Bet 4 days weekly to add £/€10 Free Bet (FB) to Cheltenham Pot. Bet 5 days to add £/€10 Cheltenham FB + £/€5 FB for the next week. Bet 6 days to add £/€10 Cheltenham FB + £/€10 FB for the next week. Bet 7 days to add £/€10 Cheltenham FB + £/€20 FB for the next week. Cheltenham FBs credited daily during the festival (11/3/25–14/3/25) and expire 14/3/25, 23:59. Free/void/cashed-out bets won’t qualify. Account, bet type and settlement, & payment restrictions apply. T&Cs apply

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