Saint Samcro enraptured his vocal band of believers with an authoritative victory in a deep-looking edition of the Deloitte Novices’ Hurdle last month.

It is possible to pick holes in the performance, however.

He was well positioned to quicken off a steady pace, entering the straight on the shoulder of the leader. The juvenile Mr Adjudicator had clocked a better time over the same course and distance little more than 35 minutes earlier; Samcro was carrying more weight but not enough to swing the analytical balance in his favour.

He also didn’t achieve much more than in wide-margin triumphs at Navan and (in particular) Punchestown, but I suppose he didn’t need to.

Yet nonetheless this had all the hallmarks of a smart horse and it was reassuring to see him in action, looking so professional, given he’d not raced since last November. He’s now unbeaten in six starts under Rules, three of those over hurdles, and trades at a prohibitive best of 4/5 for the Ballymore.

Inevitably with a horse this hyped, his odds overstate his case but he clearly has a very strong chance.

He’s considered a three-mile chaser of the future but this latest success demonstrated he’s by no means short of pace. I wouldn’t even mind if he ran in the Supreme but Gigginstown’s Eddie O’Leary has said he runs in the Ballymore and “that’s final”.

He won the Monksfield over 2m4f via class and pace rather than anything else, although he remained very strong at the finish. I’m looking forward to learning more about him.

Deloitte runner-up Duc Des Genievres caught my eye for the second time in as many starts, as the only horse to make inroads from a disadvantageous position in Samcro’s race. But trainer Willie Mullins is talking about running him in the Albert Bartlett to “suit his connections”. That’s the absolute wrong race in my opinion.

Were I Mullins, I’d rather take on Samcro again in the Ballymore – or at a push even contest a strongly run Supreme. In fact, anything – ANYTHING – except a three-mile slog (potentially now in very testing ground!) for which a thrice-raced horse is utterly ill equipped.

Mullins won the Potato Race for the first time last year and had a pretty poor record beforehand perhaps because, as Tony Keenan [@RacingTrends) has argued, he hadn’t seemed to grasp the type of horse required. If he’s considering Duc Des Genievres now, it suggests Penhill was the right answer for the wrong reasons in 2017. Good thing he didn’t show his working.

Keenan would argue – and I think he’s right – that Penhill was exactly the right type for the race because he had raced seven times over hurdles prior to Cheltenham and a whopping 18 times on the Flat. This was a seasoned campaigner – like fellow past winners Unknowhatimeanharry (17 previous starts), Berties Dream (15), Nenuphar Collonges (11), Martello Tower (8 plus a Point), At Fishers Cross (8) and Very Wood (5 plus 2 Points).

True, Bobs Worth and Weapon’s Amnesty were smart enough to win it after only five and six previous starts respectively but that pair went on to win two RSA Chases and a Gold Cup between them. Ill-fated Brindisi Breeze won after just four races but we never got to find out what he might have been.

I trust you take Tony’s point: loads of racing experience is usually vital to winning this race unless you happen to be an absolutely top-class chaser of the future – and even they had raced more than three times beforehand. So let’s hope Mullins changes his mind about Duc Des Genievres. Does he have any form in that regard, d’ya know?

In fact in all seriousness, I’m tempted from an each-way perspective to back him at Bet365’s 12/1 BOG NRNB (or Ladbrokes’s 14/1 NRNB) for the Ballymore. Provided it’s BOG, you have nothing to lose and it’s only tying up your money for a maximum ten days if he doesn’t run. Let’s do it. He’s an excellent supplement to this column’s 10/1 about On The Blind Side.

Incidentally, Nicky Henderson has issued another reassuring report about that horse, who had suffered a minor setback. “We just had a fortnight where we got held up with On The Blind Side,” he said. “He was getting sore shins… He hasn’t got them now and is working very well.”

Returning to the Deloitte, third-placed Paloma Blue saw lots of daylight and refused to settle early on, pulling himself to the front. That meant he was in a good position turning for home but had used up plenty of energy. He’s improving, though.

In fourth, the Mullins-trained Whiskey Sour maintained his putative standing with Sharjah and Real Steel – established when winning an eventful edition of the Grade One Future Champions Novices’ Hurdle over Christmas when he jumped safely past his two prone stablemates at the last. They both kept their feet yet finished behind him here.

However, he again got detached and was badly outpaced here before staying on with some application. This small-scale hurdler would thrive in something like the County.

Mullins is prepared to forgive Sharjah, who to my eye would have won at Christmas had he stood up. “I think the ground was the problem,” he said of his Deloitte seventh. “When the ground gets soft at home he can barely put one leg in front of the other and when it dries out he really improves, so I’d hope he could bounce back on better ground.”

Of course, it might not be hugely drier ground at the Festival but the plan is to run alongside stable companion and fellow Rich Ricci representative, Getabird, in the Sky Bet Supreme.

“He is improving all the time but is not a flashy horse at home,” Mullins said recently of the latter. “Even the other day, I wasn’t impressed with his work but Sonny Carey, who rides him, felt he was in great order and he knows him very well. All of his runs have been right-handed but that wasn’t deliberate and we haven’t seen any reason to doubt his ability to perform going left-handed.”

There isn’t anything in my notes that concern me about Getabird going left-handed for the first time but it is worth noting that it’s an unknown about a 13/8 favourite.

Mullins has also stated that Next Destination probably runs in the Ballymore. He won a steadily run Naas Grade One in January and his trainer anticipates a stronger pace bringing about an improved performance.