Sam Spinner on course for recovery mission in Cleeve Hurdle
Jedd O'Keeffe's gelding jumped poorly before departing in the Long Walk and has put in plenty of schooling since
SAM SPINNER will aim to resurrect his career in the Cleeve Hurdle at the end of the month.
The Grade 1 winner has looked a shadow of his former self so far this season.
Having been sent off near favourite for the Long Walk Hurdle last month, Jedd O'Keeffe's seven-year-old looked totally out of sorts, ballooning the first flight before falling at the second.
Clearly a different animal from the classy sort that won the same race last campaign, connections are convinced something isn't right with his confidence and have schooled him intensely ever since.
A crack at the Cleeve Hurdle at the end of the month now looks on the cards - provided his homework is up to scratch.
O'Keeffe said: "Sam's great, he's back cantering, all seems good.
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"Obviously we're going to do some schooling, and then we've got to assess where we are with him.
"We don't know the answer as to why he behaved like he did at Ascot. My feeling is he took exception to the padded hurdles he hadn't seen before, and they gave him a bit of a fright.
"People are telling me it wasn't the first time they'd seen it. It was the first time I'd seen a horse react like that.
"Trainers and other people are telling me they've seen other horses react like that, so the first thing is to school him and see whether his confidence has been dented.
"We do intend to school him over a padded hurdle as well and check he's okay after that. If all is good and his confidence is okay, we plan to go to the Cleeve. Basically, we've got to try to get his career back on track.
"If we can get everything right and back going again, the plan would be go back to the Festival for Stayers' Hurdle."