Elliott refuses to rule Samcro out of return to the Festival

SAMCRO could make a sensational return this season, with Gordon Elliott reporting his precocious star to be back in full training and “definitely not” ruled out of the Cheltenham Festival.

The seven-year-old carried a huge reputation after a scintillating novice hurdling campaign which left many calling for an immediate switch to fences, but Elliott and owners Gigginstown House Stud instead opted to target the Champion Hurdle – a race neither have won – before his bubble burst with three successive defeats.

Having subsequently been diagnosed with a lung infection, a trip to the Cotswolds seemed out of the question but the Meath trainer says “the next ten days will tell the tale”.

“He’s very good. We’ll do a bit of work at the end of this week and we’ll see where we’re going with him. We’ve no target for him yet but I’ve a couple of things in my head,” Elliott told Sky Sports Racing yesterday.

“We’ll see how the next couple of weeks go. We kept him in all the races at Cheltenham, he’s in the Champion and the Stayers’ (Hurdle) so it’s not a definite no at the moment.

“We’ll see how the next couple of weeks go. If not, we’ve got the Aintree Hurdle and Punchestown. The next ten days will tell the tale but Cheltenham is definitely not ruled out.”

One horse definitely out of the Festival, however, is 2017 Gold Cup winner Sizing John after Jessica Harrington ruled out the nine-yearold for the remainder of this season having met with another setback

Sizing John missed Cheltenham

last year with a pelvic injury and will be on the sidelines nearly two years by the time of his potential return which throws his future into doubt.

Meanwhile, Elliott aims to “run as many as I can” in this year’s Aintree Grand National with reigning champion Tiger Roll leading his 22-strong entry as he bids for a third success.

Tiger Roll (11-1) will have to defy a 9lb-higher mark if he is to become the first horse since Red Rum to win back-to-back renewals on April 6 where the weights will be headed by Nigel Twiston-Davies’ multiple Grade One winner Bristol De Mai (11-10).

Elliott is also represented by Cheltenham Festival winner The Storyteller (11-3) and Irish National victor General Principle (10-0) while last year’s runner-up Pleasant Company (10-1) leads Willie Mullins’ ten entries.