Magnier keeps it in family

He said: 'For what it's worth, I hear the dispute will be sorted before the Festival but the Magnier family aren't in the habit of backing down.

'Big John has set his heart on having JP ride the horse at Cheltenham and, protests or not, he'll be aboard no matter what.'

Magnier's decision to favour his son over a string of top professional jockeys provides an interesting contrast with the way Ferguson dealt with another of his sons, Darren, who he sold to Wolves in 1993 after deciding that he wasn't good enough to make the grade at Old Trafford. Ferguson Jnr subsequently moved to Wrexham and has carved out a career in the lower leagues.

Magnier clearly has a more starryeyed view of his own offspring's ability and Cheltenham punters have to decide whether to back the boy Magnier against unforgiving rivals like Richard Johnson and AP McCoy.

Rhinestone Cowboy's trainer Jonjo O'Neill remains supportive of his owner's choice of jockey. He said: 'If you had a horse who was good enough for Cheltenham and a tidy young rider for a son, wouldn't you want him to ride it?

'JP might not have a whole load of experience but he rides well and has done nothing wrong on the horse.' Magnier's record aboard Rhinestone Cowboy makes for encouraging reading at first glance.

His first ride on the gelding yielded a memorable defeat of the McCoyridden Liberman in a National Hunt Flat race at Cheltenham, while the second brought an easy success in a Haydock handicap.

Defeat in the December Festival Hurdle was a setback, but a smooth success at Sandown saw him back on track and left his rider beaming at the centre of a posse of his college pals.

'He was a different horse at Sandown compared to Leopardstown and won very easily,' he said.

'There was never a moment when I thought about not coming. There's always pressure before a big race. Pressure makes it interesting.' The pressure of riding a leading Cheltenham fancy weighed all too heavily on Magnier's older brother Tom four years ago.

Pale and gaunt after wasting hard to ride Ned Kelly in the Festival Bumper, he put up six-pound overweight and found the powerful chestnut a real handful before he faded tamely once the race began in earnest.

But Rhinestone Cowboy is much more relaxed than Ned Kelly and another Irish observer feels it would be unwise to assume that having JP Magnier in the saddle will detract from his Cheltenham prospects.

'He won't be able to claim his 5lb allowance but this lad would be in a different class to his brother and, although he's inexperienced on the racecourse, he goes there as a very accomplished three-day eventer,' he said. 'Racing in Ireland has more of a village feel than your situation in England and I doubt you'll find anyone with a bad word to say about JP.

'From what I've seen he socialises within his own age group and has no pretensions or airs and graces.

'He's certainly popular with the ladies and all in all I'd say that he's a really nice guy.'

Four frenetic minutes on 16 March will decide whether the nice guy can deliver on Rhinestone Cowboy. If he doesn't, Magnier Snr may have even more explaining to do.

Like Ferguson, his answer may be that there's nothing wrong with nepotism. It's been going on for years.