Warren Greatrex has a return to Sandown in mind for Keep Running after his runaway win at the track last week.
The gray put in an excellent performance to win the Best Odds On The Betfair Exchange Handicap Chase by a whopping 18 lengths, jumping with aplomb apart from one mistake and not giving his rivals any chance to get into the race.
The result is that he has received an 11 pound increase in the ratings, but his new score of 140 is still within the range required for the race Greatrex has chosen for him.
“He’s come out bouncing, he’s in very good shape. He’s up 11 pounds so he’s now rated at 140, but they couldn’t have done anything else really,” the trainer said.
“I think it’s just maturity, he’s fully developed now. Since he came to me he’s improved every season and now he’s the finished product.
“He’s a bit of a cracker, but I think those real two-mileers should be. I wanted to ride him to Sandown and I hoped he would do what he did.
“He needs to be very fresh and have plenty of time between his runs, so the plan now would be to get back there on January 3. There is a handicap of 0-140 and because they have kindly left him at 140 he can go for that.
“I think we need to get back to a place where he likes, he is just made for that circuit because he can canter strongly and his jumps are generally very good.
“He takes everyone else out of their comfort zone and they just struggle to live with him. I think he’s coming into the prime of his career and it will be very exciting in the future.
“He has to be right-handed, which is a bit tricky, but it does mean places like Kempton and Sandown are perfect for him.
“If they had put him at over 140 we might have looked at Desert Orchid, but as he is at 140 we will look at Sandown and go from there. It is very exciting and he is a lovely horse to have in the yard.”
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