Samcro's participation in the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown on Sunday was described by trainer Gordon Elliott as "50-50" on Saturday afternoon.
The Grade One contest has been much-anticipated all week, as it due to feature a showdown between Elliott’s star and the Willie Mullins-trained Faugheen, not to mention Supasundae.
However, Elliott has been at pains all week to stress his runner would need a suitable ease in the ground to take his chance, and that remains the case.
Talking at the track after arriving following a flight from England, he said: “I’m nervous enough and I’d be 50-50 about whether I would run him. I’ll walk it again in the morning.
“There was a lot of drying there today, it’s tricky enough.
“You can’t blame the racecourse either, it’s the way the weather is. Watering it isn’t ideal.
“I’ll see, I’m not quite sure. I’d love to run him, but I’m not going to take a chance.”
Connections of Supasundae are happy with his condition ahead of his reappearance.
His last seven runs have all been in Grade One company and he has not been out of the first three, winning the Irish Champion Hurdle and the Punchestown Champion Hurdle when last seen.
To prove his versatility, Jessica Harrington’s eight-year-old also finished second in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham over three miles, and he is set to mix and match this season, too.
"Supadsundae has come back very well from his summer break and we're very happy with him ahead of Sunday's race," said Kate Harrington, assistant to her mother.
“He had a gallop after racing at Naas on Saturday and he is as fit as we would expect him to be without a run at this time of year. Last season he was unbeaten over two miles and ended up by winning the Champion Hurdle at Punchestown and it is a track he likes.
“He’s so versatile that we’ll probably mix it up with him again and possibly go for the Hatton’s Grace after this and then back up to three miles, but he is a horse that just gives everything on the day so we are looking forward to seeing him out again on Sunday.”
