'Don't think it was all plain sailing - there were times when I couldn't believe how stupid I had been'

The Caribbean Sea behind him is at its most brilliant blue. A smattering of small boats bob up and down on the water as holidaymakers soak up the sun on a dreamy beach. It's a long way from Barbados to Limerick, and marginally even further to the Cotswolds, but both are on the mind of JP McManus.

Along with son Kieran and friend Paul Byrne, McManus has spent much of the last few days exchanging thoughts and ideas about the increasingly imminent Cheltenham Festival. Nobody has owned more winners at jumping's greatest jamboree than the sport's biggest supporter, whose strongest ever squad seems certain to further swell his 78-winner haul. There will be red-hot favourites in championship races and an abundance of handicap hopefuls, runners from Ireland, Britain and France, all brought together by the famous green and gold silks.

There are worse places to do an interview than Barbados yet McManus could talk anywhere and people would listen. The 73-year-old has never been one to pursue media attention, nor is he inclined to unfurl long monologues in response to questions. There are, however, frequent nuggets of gold in his answers, not least when he talks about winning and losing. He has done a bit of both over the years, but as our conversation is taking place on a gorgeous terrace in a house right next door to the luxurious Sandy Lane hotel he part-owns, it seems fair to say that, on balance, there has been more in the way of victory than defeat.