HUGO PALMER is hoping Flaming Rib can smoke ‘em in the Greenham Stakes.
The three-year-old is owned by former England striker Michael Owen and is the first big runner Palmer has sent out for his new boss.
Flaming Rib won four races in a row last season
Palmer, 41, replaced Tom Dascombe at Owen’s state-of-the-art Manor House Stables in Cheshire earlier this year.
He took the majority of his string to the north-west with him when leaving Newmarket, and sent out his first winner from his new base on April 1 at Leicester.
But he is yet to train a winner for Owen and his partners, and victory in this key 2000 Guineas trial wouldn’t be a bad way to christen the new partnership.
Palmer said: “It’s our first Group runner for Michael and his partners, it’ll be a tough task but hopefully he can put up a good show.
“Everything is great up here, except the phone signal! It’s a world away from Newmarket but the facilities are incredible.
“I had runners at Newmarket this week and it was very strange waking up in the morning there with nothing to do.”
He continued: “Flaming Rib is a lovely looking horse and he has a very easy way of going.
“He progressed well last year but it looked like he raced quite aggressively, for all he hasn’t trained that way.
“He has been training well in a hood and we will run him in a hood in the Greenham to try and keep him settled.
“He is well-bred and should make up in to a miler. It’ll be a hard race but the dream is still alive at this time of year.”
Flaming Rib is a 10-1 shot to rack up his fifth straight win in the Greenham Stakes.
The market is headed by Angel Bleu (2-1), who will be ridden by Frankie Dettori, and Richard Fahey’s top sprinter Perfect Power (9-4).
Yorkshire-based trainer Fahey said: “It is a fact-finding mission, really.
“He has to step up from six (furlongs), but he has been working really well and we are happy with him, and we will know where we are going after this.”
