Gary Moore is expecting nothing less than a victory from Sire De Grugy on his eagerly-awaited comeback in the Betfair Price Rush Chase at Newbury on Saturday.
Expectations are high for last season's Queen Mother Champion Chase hero as he returns to action in the Grade Two contest, registered as the Game Spirit Chase, after recovering from a setback that has kept him off the course since April.
While Moore anticipates Sire De Grugy will benefit from the run, he clearly will be disappointed if he is beaten as it would dampen hopes of retaining his two-mile title at Cheltenham next month.
"Everything's good. I've got no problems, no worries," said the West Sussex trainer.
"I wish there had been a few more runners, but that wasn't to be.
"I hope he wins. If he doesn't win he shouldn't be going to Cheltenham.
"I hope there's a fair bit of improvement in him, but he should be good enough to win."
Sire De Grugy has not run over fences at Newbury before and his only previous visit to the Berkshire track came in the Betfair Hurdle on this card three years ago, when he was fourth to Zarkandar.
Moore has no worries on that score, either.
"I should think the course will suit him," he said.
The main opposition to Sire De Grugy is likely to come from the Alan King-trained Uxizandre and Paul Nicholls' Mr Mole, both owned by JP McManus.
The latter has looked a reformed character in winning both his starts at Exeter and Sandown, but is upped markedly in grade.
"It's a step up in class for him and we'll know where going with him after tomorrow," said McManus' racing manager Frank Berry.
"He's been in good form this year and that will have to continue. We'll know more after the race."
Uxizandre has questions to answer. He looked good when winning the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham, but was a big disappointment in the Grade One Dial-A-Bet Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas.
"For whatever reason he didn't perform at Leopardstown. You'll have to have a look at him and see what happens tomorrow," said Berry.
"He was consistent last year at Cheltenham and Liverpool. Hopefully he'll come back and give a good performance.
"Alan's happy with him and needs to get another run into him."
Pauline Robson is under no illusions about the task facing Upsilon Bleu, but is sending the seven-year-old down from her Northumberland base due to limited opportunities.
"Obviously it's a very good race. We have nowhere else to go but to travel now as he's rated 150," said Robson.
"He's a lovely horse to have but we know we can't beat Sire De Grugy. We just want him to compete well. That's what we're hoping for.
"He runs at a good level and runs his heart out. He ran very well at Chepstow in October, then he went to France and won then won again at Wetherby.
"We've got the horse in good form and that's why we're travelling down the country. A sound run from him would be great, he's an absolute treasure to train so it's fingers crossed."
With just a handful of runners, Harry Fry believes it is worth having a shot with Karinga Dancer.
"He's not very easy to place at the moment given he's high in the ratings for what he's done," the Seaborough trainer said.
"We're running him a small field conditions race and hope he can pick up the pieces.
"Hopefully this will put him spot on for a bigger race in the spring when he'll have better ground, which is what he needs to be at his best."
