Samcro none the worse for Down Royal reverse and on course for Morgiana

Gordon Elliott reports Samcro to be none the worse for his odds-on defeat in the WKD Hurdle on Friday and, like the rest of his team on duty at Down Royal, expects the leading Champion Hurdle fancy to come on considerably for his return to action when he lines up in the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown on Sunday week, when he will have a new jockey.

Morgiana Hurdle entries

Regular rider Jack Kennedy picked up a ten-day ban for excessive use of the whip on Sir Ector on Friday, ruling him out of a whole host of big meetings, including the Morgiana meeting, the Troytown fixture at Navan and the big two-day fixture at Fairyhouse in early December, but a replacement has yet to be confirmed by Elliott.