Trainer Gary Hanmer, based in Tattenhall, Cheshire, has sent out 19 winners this season from his yard — a healthy haul that suggests he knows what he is doing with his horses. His read on Risk Averse Rebel is straightforward: the horse was simply too big and underdeveloped as a two-year-old. He ran three times at that age essentially to earn a handicap rating rather than to win anything, so those early races were never really about glory — they were admin. Now, back as a three-year-old and stronger for it, he has been showing a level of form Hanmer clearly respects.
The interesting part is what comes next. Hanmer believes Risk Averse Rebel is crying out for a longer trip — and possibly a switch to jumping. First, though, the owners want a win on the Flat, and the plan is to send him to Doncaster on April 21 for his first attempt over a mile and a half, on grass. That combination — more distance, different surface — could be exactly the change of scenery that unlocks him. Some horses just need to find their right conditions, and a trainer who knows his horse well enough to say "he needs a trip" is often pointing you toward the moment things click.
His regular jockey Gina Mangan has been aboard for five of those eleven races without a win, but given the context — a horse that was always being educated and is now stepping up in trip for the first time — that record is less damning than it looks. The Doncaster run on April 21 might be the most straightforward test yet of whether Risk Averse Rebel is ready to stop placing and start winning.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolverhampton Galloping |
6 | 5 thirds, 1 other | 16 Jun | 0% |
| Doncaster Galloping |
2 | 2 other | 24 Apr | 0% |
| Haydock Park Galloping |
2 | 2 other | 27 Sep | 0% |
| Chester Tight |
1 | 1 other | 30 Aug | 0% |