The Warren Greatrex trained Emitom is said to be in fine fettle ahead of his dual with Paisley Park in the Stayers Hurdle on the Thursday at the Cheltenham festival this season and Connections are excited by his chances.
Owner Ady Pead is over the moon that his first ever racehorse will get to contest in such a special race and is thankful that back in 2017 he decided to make the step into ownership from just being the normal social punter.
He named the horse Emitom after his two children Emily, nine, and Tom, 12, and it seems to have been a good omen with the horse winning six of his eight starts to date finishing second in one of those loses last season to Champ in a Grade 1 at Aintree.
This season he was very much below par at Cheltenham on his first start bu got back to his best at Haydock next time out in the Grade Two Rendlesham and that was a nice prep run for the Stayers Hurdle.
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— Racing TV (@RacingTV) February 15, 2020
The talented Emitom forges home and resumes the winning thread in the Grade 2 Unibet Rendlesham Hurdle @haydockraces @wgreatrexracing
Results ➡ https://t.co/glajGV55GR pic.twitter.com/Ey1YA6VFEY
(Credit At The Races) Emitom only cost his owner £30,000 at the sales and he said: “Max McNeill lives down the road and he kept taking me racing to his box, which we always enjoyed. He was encouraging me to buy a horse, so I did.
“I went to the races and bumped into Warren. I’d met him a few weeks before and he remembered who I was. He bought me a pint and I said I would have a horse with him. That was basically it.
“He gave me three horses to choose from and I think I chose the right one. I think you can say Tess (Greatrex’s wife), who bought him, did us proud.”
Emitom will have to be at his absolute best come this time next week but Pead can see him sneaking a place at 12/1.
He added: “We probably brought him out too soon on January 1.
“Gavin Sheehan said the engine was there, but he had just forgotten how to jump.
“He was packed off to Henrietta Knight’s for lots of practice, which paid off when he ran at Haydock. She has put a lot of effort in. The first time Emitom went there she said the horse was stupid and was going to take a lot of work. He proved that on January 1, but she has him back on track again.”