NOT SO SUPER SAM?
Talking horse can be silenced
®
ONE small corner of the Cotswolds is not buying into the hype surrounding the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle favourite Samcro.
“How can Samcro, a horse who has never raced at Cheltenham let alone outside Ireland, be the same price (4-6) as a champion like Altior?” barked Luke Tarr of bookmakers Star Sports at the Festival preview evening held in the sumptuous Kings Head hotel in Cirencester.
Forums like this have become a cottage industry in recent years and a packed Cotswold gathering were hanging on to every insight from Tarr, jockeys David Bass and Daily Star columnist Aidan Coleman, trainer Fergal O’Brien and master of ceremonies Mattie Batchelor.
This popular panel seemed almost unanimous in wanting to take on Gordon Elliott’s rising star.
Tarr offered Black Op as his alternative. Bass chipped in with On The Blind Side and O’Brien, who has yet to break his duck at the Festival, put up the Malcolm Denmarkowned Next Destination.
“The only thing I have in common with Willie Mullins is that we both train for Malcolm,” joked O’Brien.
The only dissenting voice was Batchelor – he called Samcro ‘a penalty kick’.
Natural
Tarr is a natural at such events and likes nothing more than to tilt at short-priced favourites. But even he agreed there was little mileage in opposing either Altior (Queen Mother Chase) or another cert Buveur D’Air (Champion Hurdle).
Tarr boasts increased punditry power this year as he has the ear of Star Sports ambassador, Davy Russell, the celebrated Irish jockey who has ridden at least one winner at the meeting each year since 2006.
“Davy wanted to ride Monalee in the JLT so he could partner both that horse and Presenting Percy in separate races, but they both go for the RSA Chase,” said Tarr.
“He rides Presenting Percy who has won at Cheltenham (Pertemps Final), and from 2m to almost 4m, as well as on any ground.
“Davy also told me he has been schooling Petit Mouchoir intensively and he is very positive about reversing Leopardstown placings with Footpad in the Arkle.”
If Tarr reckons Footpad is a ‘beatable’ favourite he is positively damning about Getabird in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
“Blindly following Getabird in the ‘Mr Blobby’ colours of Rich Ricci is the lazy punter’s route,” he said, “And 11-8 is a ridiculous price.”
There were other like-minded souls on the panel with Bass confidently offering up his ride First Flow. “He loves the ground, is unbeaten, and improving,” said Bass. “I would be more worried about Kalashnikov than Getabird.”
The biggest rustle in the audience came when Batchelor, in full-on cheeky chappy mode, teased Coleman about his late arrival from Catterick races and asked where the customary Jonjo O’Neill-trained winner of a Cheltenham handicap was going to come from.
Coleman, who rides out at Jackdaws Castle, opted not to fall back on Omertà, the code of silence surrounding the legendary O’Neill gambles, and instead piped up with: “There are two.” The Cotswold punters duly stiffened in their seats and those not already scribbling scrambled for pens.
“Go Conquer is the first,” said Coleman. “He’s a front runner, who drops back in trip for the Brown Advisory Festival Plate after not getting home over 3m last time.”
Precocious
Aidan described the Boodles Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle as ‘the worst of the week to ride in’, though he nonetheless made an excellent case for Jonjo’s Knight Destroyer.
“He is a big, strong horse and more precocious than other fouryear-olds at this stage,” he said. “If he is ever going to win a big race this is the one.”
Ben Hastie, head groundsman at Cheltenham, forecast that the word ‘heavy’ would appear in the going description at some stage, swelling the hearts of Native River fans in the audience ahead of the mudlark’s Timico Gold Cup bid.
As did a final Festival titbit from Luke Tarr.
“A speed figure nerd told me that Native River completed the final 2m of his Denman Chase win at Newbury faster than Altior clocked over the bare 2m of his comeback victory on the same day.” If true, wow!
¬Ê More Festival clues from the Kings Head preview evening at www. dailystar.co.uk