Unbeaten chase Sam Spinner is said to be back in good health and on the road to recovery after he suffered a season ending injury, which saw him miss the Cheltenham festival in March.
The eight year old trained by Jedd O'Keefe has been out of the sport for around four months but today was seen back out and about and looking ready for a nice summer ahead of the 2020/21 jumps season.
Sam Spinner (left) very happy to get out in a little paddock for the first time after 4 months rehab with his best pal Mr Scrumpy - great to see. pic.twitter.com/LuXtYs2OqZ
— Jedd O'Keeffe (@jeddokeeffe) May 4, 2020
(Credit Racing Post) His trainer has said that he could be back racing as early as October also adding: "He had plenty of box rest, hand walking and then horsewalking and now he's finally managed to get out in a very small paddock for the first time.
"He was thrilled but he was very sensible, he's not a crazy horse thankfully.
"His pelvis was scanned on Friday and the vet was thrilled with it, he said it looked better on the scan than he expected, so all is good.
"When he comes back into training we've got various other bits of rehab to do, to make sure we get him built up where he lost muscle with the injury, to get him flexible and loose. It might be that his action will have changed a little bit so we may have to teach him to enjoy galloping pain-free again."
The gelding has been known for his staying ability, finishing second in the 2019 Stayers Hurdle to Paisley Park and this season using that over the bigger obstacles and turning into a star novice chaser.
Sam Spinner saunters to victory in the Grade 2 bet365 December Novices' Chase at @DoncasterRaces under Joe Colliver for @jeddokeeffe... pic.twitter.com/4hGOiDNJQ6
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) December 14, 2019
Sam Spinner was last seen winning a Grade 2 novices' chase at Doncaster and is due back in training on July 1st.
O'Keeffe added: "If we have no setbacks and it's all straightforward it would take about 12 weeks to get him fit.
"That would take us
into October, when we hope the jumps season will get going properly.
"We haven't set any targets and he's not going to be easy to place because of his handicap mark and his relatively limited experience over fences. But he's got an unblemished record over fences, he was getting the hang of things every time he ran and we were excited about him - I still like to think he'd have performed very well in the RSA."
The handler is itching for racing to return and said: "We're the lucky ones, we're working and we're out every day with something to do.
"We've managed to protect the majority of the staff's jobs. Some of the owners with their own facilities have taken their horses home, which we totally understand, but by and large we've still been very well supported. Like all trainers we're desperate for racing to get going again, but only when it's the right and proper time."