'For a trainer like me to have Harry as an owner is terrific' - Redknapp snaps up Irish all-weather runner ahead of Good Friday run

Benavente was the latest signing by Harry Redknapp earlier this week, and trainer Kevin Coleman is hoping the progressive six-year-old can score on his debut for the former West Ham manager in the BetMGM All Weather Vase Mile Handicap (2.40) at Lingfield. 

Redknapp is certainly an owner in form after Shakem Up'Arry's victory in the TrustATrader Plate at the Cheltenham Festival, and he nearly followed up on the final day when The Jukebox Man was cruelly denied by Stellar Story in the final stride of the Albert Bartlett. 

Redknapp teams up with Tipperary-based Coleman, brother of leading jump jockey Aidan, as Benavente bids for back-to-back wins. 

Last seen storming home to win a mile handicap at Southwell last month, Benavente will again be ridden patiently and the responsibility will rest on the shoulders of Shane Gray to try to find the gaps up the home straight. 

Coleman is a trainer worth following when he heads to Britain. In the last five seasons eight of his 24 runners have won, for an impressive 33 per cent strike-rate and a tasty level-stakes profit of £24.20.

The £33,501 prize-money for first place caught Coleman's eye and he said: "It's great to be training a horse for Harry and hopefully he'll be lucky for him now. For a trainer like me to have Harry as an owner is terrific and everything has gone well in the lead-up to the race. 

"He's a horse who needs a fast pace so hopefully he'll get something to aim at here – you never know what might happen if he got a bit of luck. 

"I think he's definitely got a chance if things fall into place for him. The prize-money available here for a horse like him is brilliant and that's the reason he's over here. He couldn't be in any better form." 

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