As she puts the finishing touches to the Cheltenham preparation of one of her best ever horses, Sophie Leech has declared: "We aren't frightened of anyone."
Man Of Plenty is set to dodge the Pertemps handicap route on Friday for the following day's Have Your Conference At Cheltenham Racecourse Novices' Hurdle over three miles one furlong, where he could face horses from the top trainers in the UK.
Leech's target of 20-plus winners this season is slim pickings for the big boys, but her well run Gloucestershire outfit reaps rewards from a select number of horses.
Exposed with a rating in the 80s on the Flat, Man Of Plenty has come on in leaps and bounds since seeing an obstacle.
And Leech, who trains in Elton, believes there is more in the
locker.
"When we bought him the stable girl said he's very athletic and hurdling would be the making of him, and it has been," she said.
"He's one of the most promising horses I have trained and is rated 121. If he wasn't with us he would probably have ended up with a higher mark, so potentially he could be well handicapped.
"It's a dream for us to be going there on Saturday and I have a feeling our race will be one of the least competitive ones, as it might cut up. A few of the horses, like ours, have double entries.
"Where we might have the edge is some of them might see the race as a starting point whereas Man Of Plenty has recent form.
"We aren't frightened of anyone. All you can do is prepare your horse to the best of your ability and see what happens."
It's three years ago since Leech broke her duck at the famous track, in rather unconventional circumstances.
Magical Legend fell on the first day of the April meeting only to bounce out the following morning from her stable at the course fit and fresh.
She took up her second entry of the meeting and stayed on in gritty fashion to win by a length.
"It was brilliant, the owners were our landlords," said Leech, who was training in Devon at the time.
"We definitely all had a bit of a celebration."
Should Man of Plenty be the second Leech warrior to strike gold, it will vindicate the trainer's high opinion of him.
Most recently he skipped up and down Sedgefield's hills like a cross-country runner, which stands him in good stead for Cheltenham's undulations.
"Killian (Moore) was delighted with him last time and said he'd like a step up in trip and softer ground, so he's a horse who can take us to the bigger tracks.
"A yard of our size doesn't have 20 or 30 like him. It adds to the pressure, but he doesn't know that.
"This is the first meeting and there's a long way to go before he is good enough to be there in March but hopefully this is the first step," said Leech.
"A Cheltenham winner is what everyone wants on their CV."
