Horse Racing: Samcro odds-on for Ballymore Hurdle at Cheltenham Festival

The most significant question mark hanging over the Cheltenham Festival’s novice hurdles was removed on Monday, when Samcro, the brilliant winner of the two-mile Deloitte Hurdle this month, was confirmed as a runner in the Ballymore Novice Hurdle over an additional five furlongs.

Eddie O’Leary, the racing manager to his brother Michael’s Gigginstown Stud racing operation, told the Racing Post the decision on Samcro would not be reconsidered.

“He runs in the Ballymore and that’s final,” O’Leary said. “We think he will be a nice chaser over three miles for next season so, even though he won the Deloitte over two miles, he won’t be running in the Supreme.”

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The Ballymore appeared to be the obvious target for Samcro, who is unbeaten in six starts for Gordon Elliott, after his win in the Grade Three Monksfield Novice Hurdle over two and a half miles in November.

He showed so much speed and class in the Deloitte that the two‑mile Supreme Novice Hurdle, the first race at next month’s Festival on 13 March, suddenly became a realistic alternative. “He’s opened up a lot of doors,” Elliott said immediately afterwards.

Samcro was available at even-money for the Ballymore on Monday morning but shortened to a top price of 4-5 after the race was confirmed as his target, with one bookmaker going as short as 8-13.

The news Samcro will line up on the second day of the Festival is also likely to have knock-on effects elsewhere. Willie Mullins’s Getabird, who also has form at two and a half miles, is now a firm favourite for the Supreme Novice Hurdle at 2-1 ahead of Kalashnikov and If The Cap Fits at 7-1 and 8-1 respectively.

The ripples could also spread to the lineup for the three-mile Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle on the final day of the Festival, with some trainers opting to step up in trip rather than take on Elliott’s odds-on favourite in the Ballymore.

Mullins’s Next Destination, a 10-1 chance for the shorter race and 7-1 favourite for the Albert Bartlett, may now be a more likely runner over the longer trip.

Samcro seems certain to be the first odds-on chance for the Ballymore this century. Four favourites have won the race since 2000, including Faugheen at 6-4 in 2014 and Simonsig at 2-1 two years earlier. Beaten favourites over that time include Denman and Yanworth, who both started at 11-10, as well as the subsequent champion staying hurdler Inglis Drever, a 7-4 chance in 2002.

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