Sam Spinner ruled out for the season with pelvic problem
SAM SPINNER has been ruled out for the rest of the season by a pelvic injury which was more than likely sustained in his latest victory at Doncaster.
Jedd O’Keeffe’s stable star, one of the most exciting National Hunt prospects in the country, was prominent in the ante-post betting for the RSA Chase at Cheltenham after winning all his three starts over fences.
Following two successes at Wetherby, Sam Spinner completed a hat-trick with a 38-length romp over Brian Ellison’s highly-regarded Windsor Avenue in a Grade Two novice chase on Town Moor earlier this month.
The win saw jockey Joe Colliver complete a miraculous recovery after the former Grade One-winning hurdler, owned by Caron and Paul Chapman, ploughed through a fence.
Leyburn-based O’Keeffe tweeted: “Very sad to report that Sam Spinner has suffered a pelvic injury and won’t run again this season. With luck he’ll be back 100 per cent next year.”
The trainer, on his 51st birthday, then released a fuller statement. “Obviously, we’re all gutted. We were completely happy with him after the race (at Doncaster). He seemed in great order,” he said.
“It was just having had two weeks’ easy light exercise, he returned on Sunday to have a hack canter. We weren’t happy with him, and this morning the vets identified a small pelvic injury we believe probably happened during the race.
“He’s a lovely horse, and we’ve got a great team looking after him to make sure he has a great year next year.”
Meanwhile, 2017 Cheltenham
Gold Cup winner Sizing John makes his long-awaited reappearance over hurdles at Punchestown today.
Jessica Harrington’s horse has not run for 733 days and the topclass three mile steeplechaser is making a low-key return.
He will also be ridden on his return by Barry Geraghty, for the first time since leaving Henry de Bromhead’s yard back in 2016, because regular jockey Robbie Power is currently on the sidelines after a fall over Christmas.
Among those taking him on are Willie Mullins’ Stratum, better known for his exploits on the Flat including his Cesarewitch win, and stablemate Burrows Saint who won the Irish National last spring.
“We’re looking forward to getting him back in action,” said Harrington.
“Probably two and a half miles over hurdles is a bit sharp for him these days at his age, but it’s a nice race to start him in. I haven’t been tempted to run him in another race. I’ve been waiting for this race, because once I spotted it I felt it looked just the right sort of race to bring him back in after all his time off.”