Warren Greatrex believes recent Sandown scorer All In You “ticks a lot of boxes” as he sets his sights on a local victory in the valuable William Hill Hurdle at Newbury.
It was only the six-year-old’s second start for the Lambourn handler as he avenged his narrow defeat at Ascot by turning the tables on Anthony Honeyball’s Dance And Glance in the hands of James Bowen, and Greatrex predicts an even better performance on February 7.
“I’m still learning about him, I think he was unlucky on his first start for me at Ascot and if he had jumped the last one he would have won that day,” Greatrex explained.
“I thought after that the Newbury race might be one, but to make sure we got a run we would go again and learn a bit more about him, so it was a bit of a risk not to run him until two weeks later. It didn’t seem to bother him though and on very poor ground he did well at Sandown.
“I have five weeks to sing and dance and I think you will see a better horse again in Newbury.”
Previously owned by now retired owner-rider David Maxwell, who won twice at All In You for Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm in France, he made just one outing for Gary and Josh Moore before arriving at Rhonehurst following the distribution of Maxwell’s shares in the autumn.
He could now reward his new connections with a £90,000 investment in the ‘Super Saturday’ competition, which Greatrex says will be tailor-made for the smooth-travelling gelding.
He continued: “They’ve obviously put him up 5lb for his win on Saturday and he’ll be a nice weight. I think the track and the way the race will be run will really suit him – a fast two mile run where he can be dropped and come up with a run – and he ticks a lot of boxes from what I’ve seen so far.”
“Both races we’ve had with him they haven’t gone fast and I think the faster they go the more he’ll settle down and I think he’ll always finish well with his powerful foot movement. In that race they tend to go end-to-end with a long straight home and I think he’ll cope with whatever conditions he faces.”
All In You are Paddy Power’s second favorites at 8-1 after the £155,000 competition received 38 entries on Tuesday. Their market is led by Dan Skelton’s Let It Rain 7-1, after catching the eye at Ascot in December when finishing third, one place behind All In You.
Spokesman Paul Binfield said: “We are still processing the entries, but on the face of it I would expect Warren Greatrex’s All In You to be particularly popular with punters.
“The trainer operates at a 25 per cent success rate and this forward-thinking client was a comfortable winner at Sandown last weekend. A £5 fine may not be enough to stop him from taking another shot.”
Other notable names in the mix include Joe Tizzard’s Greatwood Hurdle hero Alexei, the Nicky Henderson-trained Khrisma and Jonjo and AJ O’Neill’s Wilful, another to shine at Ascot ahead of the busy Christmas period.
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