Warren Greatrex is excited about All In You’s chances in the William Hill Hurdle at Newbury on Saturday.
The six-year-old was bought from Gary Moore’s yard for £90,000 in October and was snapped up by Dance And Glance in his first start for new connections at Ascot in December, before completely reversing that form at Sandown early this year.
Greatrex is unconcerned about the predicted testing conditions on William Hill Super Saturday and is hopeful his improving six-year-old can collect a share of the £155,000 on offer in the afternoon’s feature handicap.
“We’re only half an hour’s drive (from Newbury) and it honestly never seems to stop raining, so I’d say it’s going to be quite a tough job on Saturday,” the trainer told Sky Sports Racing.
“He’s doing well and I don’t think he’s really dependent on the ground. He won very nicely at Sandown on very soft ground and he’s also had form on soft ground in France, so I don’t think it really matters what the ground is.
“He’s trained really well since Sandown, I’m really happy with him. He did his last bit of work yesterday (Tuesday), which went well, and he had a lesson this morning under James (Bowen), so he’ll just keep going over the next few days and hopefully he’ll get a good bill.”
“He’s got a good spin. Sandown was only two weeks out from Ascot so I don’t think he was in the best shape I could have had him, but I just wanted to learn a bit more about him and make sure I had a good time between then and Saturday.
“He’d be in a better place now than when he went to Sandown. It’s a competitive handicap but he’s certainly up there with a shout.”
All In You is a 5-1 shot with the sponsors, who make Let It Rain their 3-1 favorite.
Elsewhere on the card, Nicky Henderson could saddle his budding star Lulamba in the William Hill Game Spirit Chase, but the Seven Barrows handler has told the Racing Post that his Cheltenham Gold Cup contender Jango Baie will bypass the Denman Chase and instead head straight to Prestbury Park next month.
Another horse performing well for Greatrex and owners Jim and Claire Bryce is Mighty Bandit, who set his connections back €420,000 a few years ago.
It seems the six-year-old has turned a corner, given impressive victories over fences at Newbury and Doncaster this winter.
Greatrex added: “He has been unlucky enough to have had the price tag around his neck since we got him.
“He never showed me much over the fences, but his biggest thing was his wind. We always struggled a bit and it was actually Jim who said let’s try him on the Flat. He did that and came through the ranks on the Flat last year as a very solid performer.”
“Before last summer we did a real wind operation, we always wanted to try him over fences and he was just a revelation.
“I wouldn’t know where the line is with him, because he is seriously talented and just does enough.
“There is a race at Doncaster at the end of February that we will look at and I think he will be more of an Aintree horse this year (rather than running at the Cheltenham Festival) so we will look at something there at the end of the season.”
#Greatrex #big #Newbury #handicap #Races