Harry Fry was delighted and relieved in equal measure after seeing the Gidleigh Park stable star get his season back on track with a commanding victory in the Fitzdares Lightning Novices’ Chase at Windsor.
Always highly regarded by his trainer, the seven-year-old won the Chepstow Bumper and his first three starts over hurdles before finishing sixth in the Albert Bartlett at last season’s Cheltenham Festival.
He was heavy favorite to make the successful switch to the hunt at Kempton in November but was withdrawn after jumping five fences and was later found to be suffering from cardiac fibrillation.
As a result, Gidleigh Park went into this level two contest as 15-2 outsiders from four under Bryan Carver, but it was clear from an early stage that he was relishing the task as he set up a powerful gallop at the drop of the flag that just 4-6 favorite Caldwell Potter he could live with.
Grade 1 winner over hurdles Caldwell Potter, €740,000 [£625,000] purchase on behalf of an ownership group that includes Sir Alex Ferguson, was in great danger at the start of the home stretch but Gidleigh Park continued to gallop in front and was on top as he passed the post with four lengths in hand.
Personal Ambition was a further 19 lengths behind in third, with You Wear It Well last of the four from start to finish.
Fry said Sky Sports Racing: “I think relief is probably the most important feeling, first of all he went out and jumped and galloped and hit the line hard.
“Today’s win was the icing on the cake because we wanted to see him back at his best and obviously I’m delighted to see him put in a performance like that. We’re back on track and we’re onward and upward.
“A lot of people helped us get it back, a lot of people put in a lot of effort and it’s great to see the hard work pay off and the dream lives on.
“All summer I couldn’t believe I ran him in the Albert Bartlett over three miles to be honest, because he’s not a slow horse, as he showed there today.
“We started from scratch today, so we’ll go home and see how he gets out of it – obviously his welfare is paramount – and we can look forward to planning the rest of the campaign with him.”
