Rhinestone Cowboy blow for O’Neill
The John Magnier-owned eight-year-old, who was as short as 3-1 with the sponsors behind Baracouda for Cheltenham’s premier staying hurdle event next March, has been sidelined with a “leg injury”.
“Rhinestone is out for the season,” confirmed O’Neill. “He’s got a leg injury and he’s been scanned today. We’re going to get it fired, but he’s gone for the year unfortunately.
“It’s very disappointing. I’m sick for the owners and sick for young JP (Magnier) who rides him. I’m also pretty sick for myself.”
The Be My Native gelding, a winner of eight of his 11 starts over hurdles, including two Grade One events in April - the Martell Cognac Aintree Hurdle and Ballymore Properties Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown - was expected to stay over the smaller obstacles this season.
“We were looking forward to seeing him run again this season - the longer trips seemed to suit him and we would have had plenty of options with him, but the Stayers’ Hurdle would probably have been his race.
“He’s a very exciting horse and if he went chasing he’d be a super jumper, but sadly, there is nothing we can do about it. That’s racing. These things happen - a bit too much for my liking this season - but I’m sick just the same. Everyone is.”
However, O’Neill, whose Jackdaws Castle stable has suffered a relatively lean time recently by their standards, delivered an upbeat report on last year’s Stayers’ Hurdle hero Iris’s Gift, who suffered two hairline fractures of the cannonbone earlier in the season.
“I suppose you have to try and look on the bright side. We’re losing one as another is on the way back. Fortunately Iris’s Gift is better than we first thought he would be when suffered his leg injury and he has been a very willing patient.
“He’s been swimming and he will do some more this week, and he will be walking as well before he starts cantering next Monday. He’s in grand order and it’s good to get him back. We’ll see how he is before deciding what route to go with him. He will tell us when he is ready.”
The stable’s Cheltenham Gold Cup hope Keen Leader is bang on course for Haydock’s Tommy Whittle Chase on Saturday week, despite disappointing when third to Horus on his seasonal debut in the Edward Hanmer Memorial Chase at the same track on November 14.
“He’s in great form,” said O’Neill. “He will definitely go to Haydock. A couple of people have said that wasn’t the true Keen Leader we were used to seeing, but I thought he did quite well - he jumped well enough - and ran to his mark considering it was his first run of the season and he was giving away lumps of weight.”
