Sam close to chase debut High-class hurdler Sam Spinner could soon make his debut over fences. Jedd O’Keeffe’s stable star enjoyed a tremendous campaign two seasons ago — landing a valuable handicap hurdle at Haydock and the Long Walk at Ascot before finishing fifth when favourite for the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. The seven-year-old was disappointing for much of last season, but proved his talent remains intact when posting a fine effort to fill the runner-up spot behind star stayer Paisley Park on his return to Prestbury Park in March. O’Keeffe is looking forward to seeing his charge embark on a chasing career in the coming weeks. He said: “Everything is good with Sam Spinner. He had a schooling session over fences on Friday morning and that went excellently. “I’m very happy with him and there’s a chance he could make his chasing debut in mid-October. “I haven’t thought about where we’ll run him yet. We’ll just try to find a suitable race on suitable ground.”
