Samcro ‘very doubtful for Cheltenham’ as Sharjah defies the odds
If Samcro’s Champion Hurdle dreams had not already been dashed they were all but extinguished when the gelding, suffered his fourth consecutive defeat at Leopardstown yesterday.
This time he could finish only an eight-lengths fifth behind the Willie Mullins-trained Sharjah in the Ryanair Hurdle, and later Eddie O’Leary, Gigginstown’s racing manager, described him as “very, very doubtful” for the Cheltenham Festival.
It is, of course, not Samcro’s fault that so many hopes have been heaped upon him since he delivered the Ballymore Hurdle in style as the Irish banker at last season’s Festival. Owner Michael O’Leary has done his best to keep a lid on expectation but the horse, sent off a 6-4 favourite to get back to winning ways, is certainly helping him do that now. He went to the front, seemingly going well on the home turn, but the race changed going to the last, when Sharjah, nominally the Mullins’ second string behind Melon but who had already claimed the scalp of Faugheeen earlier this season, arrived alongside him, cruising under Patrick Mullins.
The amateur was able to play it safe at the last before sprinting clear to beat Supasundae 3¾ lengths, with Tombstone third. Melon, runner-up to Buveur D’Air in last year’s Champion Hurdle, was fourth, as Samcro faded.
Congratulating the Mullins family on a fantastic win, O’Leary said: “That was clearly not his running. We’ll go back to the drawing board and see what’s amiss. Today’s Samcro was nothing like the Samcro of last year. He’ll go straight to the vets for an MOT and if we don’t find anything wrong we’re all in trouble.”
Speaking of Sharjah, Willie Mullins said: “Patrick said he is so good on good ground. I’m very happy for Patrick and Rich Ricci, who hasn’t had the best Christmas. Sharjah will be entered for the Dublin Festival but he could go straight to Cheltenham – they usually get decent ground there. He’s very young but he’s improving all the time.”
Sharjah is now a best priced 14-1 for the Champion Hurdle and as short as 5-1 in places. Buveur d’Air, who lost his air of invincibility at Kempton, retains favouritism, but the picture is cloudy.
It was not all one-way traffic for Mullins at Leopardstown, however. Delta Work, winner of last year’s Pertemps Final, looks like he could be heading the same way as his Pertemps predecessor Presenting Percy, who went on to win the RSA Chase at last season’s Festival, after the Gordon Elliotttrained jumper won the Grade One Neville Hotels Novice Chase.
JP McManus may have been eclipsed by the sheer number of Gigginstown horses in Ireland but he has a formidable pool of novice hurdlers based this side of the Irish Sea and Champ, a gelding out of a half-sister to Best Mate and named after his former jockey AP McCoy, joined them after winning Newbury’s Betway Challow Hurdle by 2½ lengths. Despite being what Barry Geraghty described as “keen without being free” most of the way, Champ still found enough from the last.
“I was impressed,” said Nicky Henderson who was also on the scoresheet with another McManus horse of unlimited potential, Champagne Platinum.
“Last time here he took off halfway down the back and we were keen not to repeat that today, but he pulled pretty hard all the way. We wanted to let it happen a bit later. I didn’t know which side he was coming [when short of room every time he switched him going to the last], Greenham Common or the railway station, but he had enough horse under him and to quicken up from a field of that quality was impressive.” He added: “He has a name to live up to – I imagine JP has been sitting on it for a few years – but he took a step towards it today winning a Grade One.”