Into Overdrive on course for Rowland Meyrick return

Last year’s winner Into Overdrive is on course to make his seasonal reappearance in the William Hill Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase at Wetherby on Boxing Day.

Mark Walford’s staying chaser lined up in the West Yorkshire track’s traditional festive feature as a leading contender 12 months ago, having already won at Wetherby in the autumn before pushing top-class stayer L’Homme Presse close in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle.

Into Overdrive was disappointingly pulled up when well fancied for the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March and while he has not been seen in competitive action since, Walford is pleased with his condition ahead of his belated return.

He said: “A few of our horses haven’t been quite firing and he’d have been on that list, but they seem to be coming right now and he seems in good nick.

“We haven’t actually missed anything as a race at Wetherby we would have run him in was off and then the Rehearsal was off as well. They were the two races we’d have gone for and they were abandoned anyway.

“He seems in good form, Jamie (Hamilton) schooled him on Tuesday and it went well, so we’re hoping for a decent run next week.

“There’s plenty of races coming up for him in the new year and we’re looking forward to getting him out. It will be a big ask for him to win first time out in a race like this, but he’s a decent horse and I think we’ve got him in good nick.”

Into Overdrive is one of 16 entries for the Rowland Meyrick, with Sandy Thomson’s Empire Steel, Dan Skelton’s Ashtown Lad and the Nicky Richards-trained pair of Houston Texas and Famous Bridge among his potential rivals.