Has he schooled poorly over fences? Seems mad to stay over hurdles, wouldn’t fancy him to win a Grade 1 whether it be Leopardstown or Cheltenham over 2m.

Connections need there head read,truly bonkers..

irishone your in the wrong game mate if you think that

samcro has no chance of winning a champion hurdle

wouldn't write off SB purely on one run

A fast pace is just what BD needs too, within the panthenon of CH winners he is not a speed merchant winner of the race.

"He hasn't become a poor horse overnight, but he certainly did not look like a 2 mile hurdler. Jumped ok, but not with the slickness needed. 2 miles on good ground against good horses is surely not what he wants.

Elliott said the Morgiana comes next. If he were mine, I'd be schooling him over fences and forgetting all about hurdling. He's rising 7 and you wouldn't want to get too deep into the season and then change tack with a horse this good.

Hurdling looked a puzzling decision - it looks even stranger if they persevere on today's evidence".

That's what I wrote after the Down Royal race and it can be repeated, along with the observation that he was embarrassingly exposed for lack of pace by Buveur on ground which should have suited.

Gigginstown have two O'Leary egos pulling the strings and they make some mistakes. Don Cossack running in the Ryanair, before thrashing two of the Gold Cup principals at Punchestown was one. I suspect Elliott's heart is not in this Champion Hurdle campaign and there must be a question as to whether they will prevent Samcro from achieving what he should. Reminds me of French Holly, a horse born for fences, who stayed over hurdles far too long and spent his time running behind Istabraq, having won the 2m 5f novice at the festival in a canter. (It was rumoured that the owner was against him jumping fences).

Samcro has had an extraordinary fall from grace since Cheltenham and connections seem to have boxed themselves into a corner.

As for impossible123 - "Which Cheltenham race in March will he go after tomorrow? JLT or RSA? The Arkle could be a bit too quick for him, I think"..........read the tea leaves!

Samcro shouldnt be underestimated lads, im not waxing lyrical about him and never have, but write him off at you peril. Never forget chesnuts are dodgy you dont know what you are going to get each day .
Bd is a fantastic horse, but melon got to him and watch Bd  flatten the last yesterday. Given different conditions going wise ,track wise and tactics wise who can say what can happen. Just a word of caution in a similar way hendo let out before yesterdays race.

It was odd listening to Elliot after the race. Basically he said they'd stick to the champion hurdle route as it was nice having a day at the races to watch a good horse like Buveur D'Air. What on earth is going on there? We all know how competitive he is. He had five-timers at lowly Perth twice during the summer for example. That is not the real Elliot talking. Looks like the O'Leary's have him by the balls.

The day I back horses cos of connections,rather than form and my eyes,is the day I give up.
I don't care what Elliot or indeed any of the jockeys that have rode Samcro say, I have seen the proper evidence on the race track.
Until I see evidence that this horse has improved over 2m sufficiently to stand any chance in a Champion Hurdle I simply cannot part with my cash,whatever the price.
Samcro looks a stayer,he beat stayers in the Ballymore,and from what I have seen of him thus far,thats where he needs to be to win races.
His trainer can say what he likes.

Kribensis done it as well I read , for Sir Michael

in saying all that regarding samcro i have not and will not backed him ,just an observation .........melon is the one that is on my mind .

Lets hope so Irish,we want as competitive race as we can get.
Personally I think we may well have a small field.

Yep
As he also said there are beginner chases over here that are grade ones
Followed by ted..... Long time until cheltenham

..."long way till March and a lot of water to flow under the bridge...not at peak yet."

Connections must be deluded if they thought Samcro can beat Buveur D'Air fairly and squarely, all things being equal.

The facts about Samcro are he was a high class novice hurdler with a tall reputation to go with. His 2 races out of novice company have raised many questions,

firstly he went to Down Royal carrying a bit of condition and had to give 5 pound to Bedrock who beat him 1 and 1/2 lengths, he gave 8 pound to Sharjah in the same race and finished 5 lengths ahead of him. Sharjah has subsequently come out and won a G1 beating Faugheen.

Samcro's second run was to be in Ireland but owing to fast ground conditions it was decided not to risk it. The owner and trainer didn't shy away from travelling to England to take on the 2 time champion hurdle winner and best 2 mile novice of last season. The race was run to suit a speed merchant with bundles of race experience. Samcro was beaten by 8 lengths by dual champion hurdle winner. While visibly it looked a pasting one must consider Buveur D'air has run over obstacles 14 times losing only once in the supreme to stable companion Altior and Min. He is a true champion.

Buveur D'air himself is a special horse and probably the only horse ever to win his 2 novice chases and then to be reverted to hurdling.These decisions are normally reserved for failed chasers, A fantastic call by connections. Only the connections had the foresight and knowledge to come up with what is now one of the best decisions ever made about a horse. For that reason I wonder how some people believe they have better insight to Samcro than his own connections. For some to question the person paying the bills and the person who works with the horse day in day out. Is it not better that the 2nd or 3rd best at something not entitled to run against the best or should Buveur D'air be given a walkover like yesterdays race at leicester.

Finally Gigginstwon buy horses for one reason and one reason only "chasing" thats a known fact, they have no interest in hurdling unless its a stepping stone to winning chases, big chases. I for one believe Samcro is special and has proved he is special, how special the future will only tell but connections seem to be treating him different, and that might be a clue.

Yep pretty much agree with all of that.

For a horse to be regarded as special, that horse needs to put in performances at the top level to merit that.
I have yet to see Samcro produce such a performance at the top level.

I wonder how some people believe they have better insight to Samcro than his own connections. For some to question the person paying the bills and the person who works with the horse day in day out. Is it not better that the 2nd or 3rd best at something not entitled to run against the best or should Buveur D'air be given a walkover like yesterdays race at leicester.


Watching horses run on the track is the best way of forming an opinion on a horse, not listening to connections.
Samcro has not even got close to proving hes either special or indeed a credible Ch Hurdle contender in his 2 runs over 2m this season. We can all see his 2 races, don't need his connections saying anything to the contrary,its clearly there for all to see.
As For taking part in the Champion Hurdle,fine if that's what they want, we have had plenty of horses turn up in the race in the past without the form to challenge the main contenders.
Personally think it better for the horse and those associated with him to be given entries that suit his strengths and ability. So far they aint,as the evidence on the track suggests.

???

There are always exceptions, Binocular is another who got smashed up in this race and won the CH...hang on a minute there's a pattern here, let's get on the Fighting Fifth also rans

Harchibald never ran in the Supreme, he was beat in the CH, with differing views on what happened, he wasn't held up too far, the argument is whether Carberry waited too long before committing him as the horse was cruising, my view was that he did nothing wrong, if he went earlier he would have been beat further......there was carnage on here though at the time