Windsor: Gidleigh Park exhibits true value with Lightning strike for Harry Fry

Harry Fry was delighted and relieved in equal measure after seeing steady star Gidleigh Park get his season again on monitor with a front-running victory within the Fitzdares Lightning Novices’ Chase at Windsor.

All the time held within the highest regard by his coach, the seven-year-old received a Chepstow bumper and his first three begins over hurdles earlier than ending sixth within the Albert Bartlett eventually season’s Cheltenham Competition.

He was an odds-on favorite to make a profitable change to chasing at Kempton in November, however was pulled up after leaping 5 fences and was later discovered to be affected by a fibrillating coronary heart.

Because of this, Gidleigh Park lined up on this Grade Two contest as a 15-2 outsider of 4 below Bryan Carver, but it surely was clear from an early stage he was having fun with the duty, as he set a robust gallop from flag-fall that solely 4-6 favorite Caldwell Potter was capable of stay with.

Grade One-winning hurdler Caldwell Potter, a €740,000 [£625,000] buy on behalf of an possession group that features Sir Alex Ferguson, loomed up wanting a giant hazard early within the residence straight, however Gidleigh Park saved galloping out in entrance and was effectively on high as he handed the submit with 4 lengths in hand.

Private Ambition was an extra 19 lengths behind in third, with You Put on It Nicely final of 4 from begin to end.

Fry informed Sky Sports activities Racing: “I feel reduction might be the overriding feeling, at first that he is come out and jumped and galloped and hit the road exhausting.

“Successful right this moment was the icing on the cake, as we needed to see him again to his greatest and I am thrilled clearly to see him put in a efficiency like that. We’re again on monitor and onwards and upwards.

“Lots of people have helped us get him again, lots of people have put in plenty of effort and it is nice to see that arduous work paid off and the dream is alive.

“All summer time, I could not consider I ran him within the Albert Bartlett over three miles to be trustworthy, as a result of he isn’t a sluggish horse, as he is proven there right this moment.

“We had been beginning again from scratch right this moment, so we’ll go residence and see how he comes out of it – clearly his well-being is paramount – and we are able to sit up for plotting the remainder of the marketing campaign with him.”