MEET Military Green. Readers are going to be hearing a lot about this horse over the coming weeks, months and years, because the three-year-old has been adopted by The Press.

Trained by Tim Easterby, at Great Habton, and owned by the up-and-coming On To A Winner syndicate, Military Green will run from today with The Press logo on his rider’s silks and we will keep readers up to date with all his races and his progress in the yard.

But that’s not all.

In conjunction with On To A Winner, we’ll be running regular competitions giving lucky winners the opportunity to be an ‘owner for the day’ and get the full racecourse experience when Military Green goes for victory on the track.

That means owners and trainers admission badges, a briefing from trainer and jockey in the parade ring before the race and, hopefully, a champagne reception afterwards to toast a victory.

On To A Winner, who have had 11 winners in their first year of operation, also hope to arrange stable visits, giving Press readers a chance to see the horse work on the gallops and to meet some of the stars at Easterby’s highly successful Great Habton yard.

A relatively inexperienced horse, with just a handful of runs to his name, Military Green is a son of Cadeaux Genereux, who won the Nunthorpe Stakes at York Racecourse in 1989 and is the sire of numerous speed merchants including Bijou D’Inde and Touch Of The Blues.

Too big and weak to race as a juvenile, the penny is beginning to drop for Military Green, who only began training in March and won a relatively poor race at Redcar on his second start despite being incredibly green.

Niall O’Brien, who runs the On To A Winner syndicate, is hoping the horse will give Press readers a lot of fun.

“He’s a great big raw horse,” he said of Military Green. “He will probably be better with time.

“We are of the opinion that anything he does this season will be a bonus. He’s a late maturer and he is off a really nice winnable mark and we think he will be winning plenty of races.

“He will definitely be good fun for people to follow. For a horse that won second time out, you would expect him to be a multiple winner. Once he finds his level he will be very competitive and he will definitely improve next season as a four-year-old. He has got a huge frame and he needs to strengthen up.

“Tim doesn’t know how good he will be yet. He doesn’t drill his horses up the gallops. He lets them mature on the racecourse so he could very well surprise us. Fast Shot, one of our other syndicate horses with Tim, was off a rating of 56 when we got him. Now he’s off 92.

“I can promise The Press readers one thing: Military Green is better than his current mark of 53.”

When asked of the experience competition victors will get when they go to see the horse at the racecourse, O’Brien added: “Winners will go through the owners and trainers entrance, and car park, and we will meet for a drink beforehand in the owners and trainers bar.

“They will join us in the pre-parade ring where they will watch the horse get saddled up and then they will meet the jockey and trainer in the parade ring.

“We’ll watch the race together and then hopefully celebrate a win with a champagne reception.

“We’re hoping people will get an understanding of what we do and that might convert into them becoming shareholders, or owners, in our horses.

“It will be a great experience for people and we are fairly sure that some people will then want to take up a small share in a horse, or a lease. We have options for racehorse ownership for less than £2 a day.”

Most importantly, O’Brien hopes the experience will be fun. Military Green may, or may not, turn out to be a big winner on the track, but O’Brien believes The Press readers can be sure he will always try his best.

“We are really looking forward to the journey ahead,” he said.

“Military Green is the type of horse we like to start off with. It’s not like syndicating a two-year-old. We know he has age on his side and it’s about how much we can improve him.

“We know he is willing and he will be able to run often.”

For more information about On To A Winner syndicates, log on to www.ontoawinner.net