PLENTY TO CRO ABOUT
Rising star provides wow factor
SAMCRO revved the hype machine to full throttle with a scorching top-level triumph at Leopardstown yesterday — and is now odds-on to remain unbeaten at Cheltenham.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary had sought to contain the ballyhoo surrounding his star, saying the Gordon Elliott-trained six-year-old, named after a Hell’s Angels motorbike gang, was “not the second coming of Jesus Christ”.
And O’Leary was sticking to his guns despite Samcro wowing the big crowd with a five-and-a-half-length victory under Jack Kennedy in the Grade 1 Deloitte Novice Hurdle over two miles.
The stunning performance saw his odds cut to 8-11 for the Ballymore Properties Novices’ Hurdle over an additional four furlongs next month.
“Hopefully he keeps going the right way, but the problem now will be keeping the hype down,” said O’Leary.
Elliott (above) added: “He showed a lot of class there today. He’s a bit of a talking horse but he still has to improve.” Edwulf’s dramatic win in the Unibet Irish Gold Cup – the feature event of the inaugural €1.5m Dublin Racing Festival – was a greater victory over the odds than his 33-1 starting price suggests. The nine-year-old, another big prize for trainer Joseph O’Brien and a first Grade 1 for top amateur Derek O’Connor, lay on the Cheltenham turf for 40 minutes after collapsing at the end of the National Hunt Chase last March. Owner JP McManus, who admitted to having “a little bit on him” at 100-1, said: “That day it was about saving the horse’s life – it wasn’t that he might some day win a big, Grade 1 race.” Killultagh Vic had come to win the race when crashing out at the final fence, but his trainer Willie Mullins left south Dublin with a treble courtesy of Triumph Hurdle hope Mr Adjudicator, Grand National contender Total Recall and Champion Bumper possible Relegate.