Image © Healy Racing
Johnnywho was the first point-to-pointer to get on the scoreboard at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival when he landed the Trusmarque Ultima Handicap Chase.
A debut four-year-old maiden winner in Rathcannon when starting his career under the care of Ellmarie Holden, the Califet gelding had the subsequent Grade 1 winner, Hermes Allen, 19 lengths adrift of him on that occasion, a victory which saw him purchased privately by JP McManus to go into training with Jonjo O’Neill.
Fifth in last season’s Irish National, the now nine-year-old was sent off as an 18/1 shot in first-time cheekpieces, and he approached the final fence in third position, sitting behind another pair of point-to-point graduates in Quebecois and Search For Glory.
However the latter pecked on landing, unshipping James Smith in the process, and that provided Richie McLernon’s mount with the opportunity which he took full advantage of by defeating Jagwar by half-a-length.
Quebecois (ex-Sean Doyle) dropped into third, with fellow pointing graduate Leave Of Absence (Donnchadh Doyle) in fifth.
Johnnywho denies Jagwar in the Trustmarque Ultima Handicap Chase %uD83C%uDFC6 pic.twitter.com/2Kt8cPKwoo
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 10, 2026
The victory was a deserved success for Johnnywho after he was narrowly denied in the Kim Muir 12 months earlier.
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.”
