Sam Spinner's plans depend on handicapper

A qualifier for the Pertemps Final at the Cheltenham Festival and the Grade One Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot are the first options next month after the five-year-old put up an impressive front-running display under Joe Colliver to take the Betfair Stayers’ Handicap Hurdle by 17 lengths.

“We’ll see what the handicapper does on Tuesday, first of all,” said the Leyburn trainer.

“First of the possible races might be to get him qualified for the Pertemps Final. There’s a race at Carlisle on December 17.

“If we are thinking about going up in grade we’d consider the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot on December 23.

“Those are the first targets and we haven’t gone beyond that. The first thing is to find out what the handicapper does.

“He’s come out of the race in very good shape.”

O’Keeffe is enjoying a career-best year – his yard has excelled on the Flat in recent months – and Sam Spinner epitomises O’Keeffe’s uncanny ability to get the most out of his horses.

From eight races, Sam Spinner – owned by Caron and Paul Chapman – has won five times and been runner-up on the other three occasions.

It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that he is entered in the Grade One Stayers Hurdle at next year’s Cheltenham Festival.

Meanwhile nine-time Grade One winner Cue Card is unlikely to run in the 32Red King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day after finishing a distant second to Bristol De Mai.

Joe Tizzard, assistant trainer to his father Colin, said the 11-year-old will now be set “easier options” than the King George after his heavy defeat in Haydock’s Betfair Chase just 35 minutes after the aforementioned Sam Spinner galloped to victory.

“He had a hard race, there’s no two ways about it, but he’s absolutely fine,” said Tizzard juniior.

“On the day, in those conditions, Bristol De Mai looked absolutely untouchable – it was an outstanding performance.

“We were chuffed with his run and how he’s come out of it. I’ve only caught up with Dad for literally half an hour (yesterday morning), but we said we’ll probably skip the King George and we’ll look for easier options either side of that.

“There’s Ascot in February (Ascot Chase). He loves it there and it’s not as competitive as the King George.”

Trainer Kim Bailey is looking forward to taking The Last Samuri back to Aintree for the Becher Chase following his encouraging seasonal reappearance at Kempton.

The 2016 Grand National runner-up was the 33-1 outsider of seven for a handicap hurdle, but defied his price by finishing a creditable second to Bags Groove on his first run since he was well beaten in this year’s renewal of the Liverpool showpiece.

All roads lead back to Merseyside for the three-and-a-quarter-mile contest, in which he was a close third in 2016, over the big fences on December 9.

“It was a phenomenal performance at Kempton,” said Bailey. “We will go to Aintree in two weeks’ time to see if he can win a Becher Chase now.

“We were staggered with the result at Kempton. He is an extraordinary horse and he is just as tough as nails.”

Coneygree is at the head of the weights for the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury on Saturday.

The 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, who was pulled up on his reappearance in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby after making an early mistake, must shoulder 11st 12lb in the big race.

The Willie Mullins trio of Childrens List, Pleasant Company and ante-post favourite Total Recall could all still run.

American has been aimed at the race for a long time after going unbeaten over fences last season and will represent Harry Fry.

Nicky Henderson’s Whisper won a graduation chase at Kempton earlier in the month and could be joined in the line-up by stablemate Vyta Du Roc.

In-form Nigel Twiston-Davies could run Double Ross and Cogry as he seeks another high-profile Saturday success.