Harry Fry is considering February options at Warwick and Kempton with Gidleigh Park – but an appearance at the Cheltenham Festival the following month is far from certain.
Unbeaten in his first four starts before finishing sixth in the Albert Bartlett at the Festival last season, the seven-year-old was disappointingly pulled up on his chasing debut at Kempton in November and was subsequently found to be suffering from a fibrillating heart.
He therefore lined up with something to prove in the Grade Two Lightning Novices’ Chase at Windsor on Friday, but bounced back with a dominant front-running victory over Caldwell Potter, much to the delight and relief of his trainer.
Fry said: “He seems absolutely fine, which is obviously first and foremost, and we can look forward to working out where we go next.
“We’re obviously keen to get as much experience into him as possible and there are a couple of options in February; you’ve got the Kingmaker at Warwick over two miles or you’ve got the Pendil at Kempton a couple of weeks later over two-and-a-half.
“We’ll let the dust settle and see how he is in himself before deciding which target we go for.”
With what was the Turners Novices’ Chase being run as a handicap at the Festival this season, Gidleigh Park’s only realistic Cheltenham target would be the Arkle Trophy.
However, Fry would be quite happy to bypass the meeting altogether if he feels it is in the best interests of his stable star.
“With the season we’ve had, Cheltenham might just come too soon for him this year, bearing in mind that we need to get experience into him. If that is the case, we’ve got Aintree to look forward to instead,” he added.
“It’s just great to have him back to full health and putting up the sort of performance that we hoped he was capable of – and we hope there’s more to come off the back of what was effectively his first run of the season, having only gone five fences on his reappearance.
“From a fitness point of view and an experience point of view, there should be improvement to come, so there’s lots to look forward to as we work towards the spring.”
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Harry Fry was delighted and relieved in equal measure after seeing stable star Gidleigh Park get his season back on track with a front-running victory in the Fitzdares Lightning Novices’ Chase at Windsor.
Always held in the highest regard by his trainer, the seven-year-old won a Chepstow bumper and his first three starts over hurdles before finishing sixth in the Albert Bartlett at last season’s Cheltenham Festival.
He was an odds-on favourite to make a successful switch to chasing at Kempton in November, but was pulled up after jumping five fences and was later found to be suffering from a fibrillating heart.
As a result, Gidleigh Park lined up in this Grade Two contest as a 15-2 outsider of four under Bryan Carver, but it was clear from an early stage he was enjoying the task, as he set a strong gallop from flag-fall that only 4-6 favourite Caldwell Potter was able to live with.
Grade One-winning hurdler Caldwell Potter, a €740,000 purchase on behalf of an ownership group that includes Sir Alex Ferguson, loomed up looking a big danger early in the home straight, but Gidleigh Park kept galloping out in front and was well 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 four from start to finish.
Trainer Harry Fry was delighted with Gidleigh Park’s performance (John Walton/PA)
Fry told Sky Sports Racing: “I think relief is probably the overriding feeling, first and foremost that he’s come out and jumped and galloped and hit the line hard.
“Winning today was the icing on the cake, as we wanted to see him back to his best and I’m thrilled obviously to see him put in a performance like that. We’re back on track and onwards and upwards.
“A lot of people have helped us get him back, a lot of people have put in a lot of effort and it’s great to see that hard work paid off and the dream is alive.
“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’s shown there today.
“We were starting back from scratch today, so we’ll go home and see how he comes out of it – obviously his well-being is paramount – and we can look forward to plotting the rest of the campaign with him.”
Caldwell Potter seen here at Cheltenham (Ashley Iveson/PA)
Paul Nicholls felt Caldwell Potter was simply not as good as the winner on the day, but he remains confident the grey will shine in due course.
He said: “No excuses, Harry (Cobden) got off and said ‘lovely horse but not a champion’. That probably sums it up.
“He galloped and jumped but wasn’t good enough.
“He will win a lot of races, just because he’s got that price tag, he’s got expectations he’s going to be another Kauto Star but he’s not.
“He’s a nice horse, jumped well, travelled well but just didn’t win. The winner is no mug, they went a good gallop round here.
“Harry summed it up and I think it’s probably about right.”
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Gidleigh Park could get his novice chasing career back up and running at Exeter on Monday after suffering an episode of atrial fibrillation at Kempton in November.
One of the stars of Harry Fry’s Higher Crockermoor string, the strapping seven-year-old won three of his four starts over hurdles last term, including a Grade Two at Cheltenham on Trials day.
He would go on to finish sixth in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, but his future was always set to be over fences and hopes were high he could make a real impression over the larger obstacles this term.
Sent to Kempton Park for a clash with Nicky Henderson’s Iberico Lord he was sent off the 10-11 favourite, but was pulled up halfway through the contest with Gidleigh Park found to have an irregular heartbeat.
Fry is now eager to “start from scratch” with his exciting chasing prospect and, given a clean bill of health, could now head to the Exeter Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase over two miles and three furlongs.
“He’s made a full recovery and he entered on Monday,” said Fry.
“What happened on his chasing debut was obviously disappointing, but a reason came to light straight away with the atrial fibrillation and irregular heartbeat. That reset itself by its own accord within 24 hours and everything has gone according to plan as we’ve gone back up through the gears.”
Fry went on: “He did suffer an episode in October 2023 and we were able to manage that during his novice hurdle campaign.
“Why it happened again, we don’t know and there was no obvious reason for it. He is obviously more prone to it than others might be, but everything has gone well since Kempton and hopefully that remains the case.
“We’ll forget Kempton and we start from scratch and hopefully Exeter is a nice starting point for him.
“We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves and first and foremost we just want to get him back and can then make plans on the back of it.”
Prior to Gidleigh Park’s impending return to the track, Fry is hoping Kempton can survive the wintry conditions threatening this Saturday’s valuable meeting so he can saddle Beat The Bat in the feature Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle.
Beat The Bat (left) bumping into Dysart Enos at Cheltenham last season (Simon Marper/PA)
Yet to finish outside the first two over obstacles, he made an encouraging return over an intermediate trip at Haydock in November and is the 6-1 second-favourite with the sponsors for the £100,000 prize.
“We were very pleased with his reappearance at Haydock, we had the option to drop back to two miles at Ascot before Christmas but we decided this race would suit him better,” continued Fry.
“I hope the weather doesn’t interfere with our plans because he’s in good form and we’re looking forward to taking our chance.
“He’s only once been out of the first two in his career to date and he’s got some very good form in defeat, so we hope he’s still progressive as a second-season hurdler.
“With a bit of luck there is a valuable prize in him, that’s always been our feeling and hopefully he gets the opportunity to do that.”
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Gidleigh Park is undergoing further tests after suffering a second episode of atrial fibrillation on his chasing debut at Kempton on Monday.
Harry Fry’s stable star won his first three starts over hurdles last term, including a Grade Two victory at Cheltenham, before finishing sixth in the Albert Bartlett at the Festival in March.
Hopes were high ahead of the six-year-old’s introduction to the larger obstacles, but he was pulled up by Bryan Carver after jumping just five fences, with a subsequent stewards’ report revealing he was found to have an irregular heartbeat.
As published in the racing media in the last few minutes, we can confirm Gidleigh Park has been checked over by the racecourse vets and diagnosed with an atrial fibrillation.
Having jumped the first few fences well, Bryan was quick to pull him up. Thanks for all the kind…
Fry revealed it is not the first time Gidleigh Park has been diagnosed with a heart issue and the team are now fully focussed on his recovery.
“He seems absolutely fine himself. The vets have been running tests and he’s been having an ECG and we’re just awaiting further results,” the trainer said on Tuesday.
“He did have an episode of atrial fibrillation at the beginning of October last season and reset himself within sort of 24 hours. He obviously went on and had a good novice hurdle campaign, so we’ve been here before with him and monitor him closely.
“You could see early on in the race at Kempton that things weren’t right, he wasn’t travelling and certainly wasn’t jumping with the zest that we’d expect. Bryan was very quick to pull him up when clearly there was something amiss and so it’s proved.”
Trainer Harry Fry (John Walton/PA)
Fry is in no rush to make future plans for Gidleigh Park, adding: “We’re back to the drawing board and awaiting results from the vets. There’s no timeline on it or anything like that. It’s obviously paramount first and foremost that we give him a chance to recover.
“The best-case scenario is he’ll correct himself, but if he doesn’t, he’ll potentially need treatment. It’s still very early days and we’ll just try and get to the bottom of it and make plans from there.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves, we’ve got to get him right first before we think about anything else or make any plans whatsoever. That’s our focus at the moment, getting to the bottom of it and getting him back to full health before we think about what might happen next.”
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Harry Fry believes Gidleigh Park is as exciting a prospect as he has ever sent over fences ahead of his seasonal debut in the Copybet Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase at Ascot on Friday.
Winner of his first three starts over hurdles, including a Grade Two at Cheltenham, he went on to finish sixth in the Albert Bartlett at the Festival in March.
Fry is still kicking himself for running Gidleigh Park in that race on soft ground, feeling it tested his stamina, but he is one for whom everything has been leading towards the bigger obstacles.
“We’ve always thought Gidleigh Park’s future would lie over fences, and we’ve been delighted to see him school so brilliantly at home. The lack of rain this autumn has made us wait, but now the heavens have opened, we can’t wait to get started at Ascot on Friday,” he told Grosvenor Sport.
“We’ve made no secret of the high regard that we hold him in and of the hopes we have for him, so fingers crossed he can put in a good, clean round of jumping at Ascot to kick off his season.
“We’re obviously dropping him back in trip from his run in the Albert Bartlett to two-and-a-quarter miles at Ascot. The more I think about it, the more I can’t believe we ran him in the Albert Bartlett. This is a horse with loads of speed and we’re looking forward to making the most of that on Friday and beyond.
“His optimum trip would probably be two-and-a-half miles, but we’ll see, as I think he’ll tell us more once we’ve got our campaign under way. Eventually, he will be a three-miler, but we’ve no problem with bringing him back in distance for the moment. We can’t wait to see how his season unfolds.
“Right here, right now, I think Gidleigh Park is probably as exciting a novice chase prospect as we’ve ever had. Hopefully he can deliver on that promise, but he certainly gives us a huge amount to look forward to.”
Gidleigh Park faces far from a walkover, with Charlie Longsdon’s Rare Edition having already won over fences, among the five-runner field.
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Harry Fry is relishing the prospect of seeing the exciting Gidleigh Park tackle fences this season – but ground conditions could scupper hopes of a chasing bow at Exeter on Monday.
The strapping six-year-old created a real buzz when winning the first four starts of his career in decisive fashion, but his future was always set to lie over the larger obstacles when sent novice chasing this term.
Owned by the Eyre family, Gidleigh Park holds an entry for the Brigadier Rayner Beginners’ Chase and despite Fry’s eagerness to begin his chasing career in earnest, the trainer has suggested he may miss that pencilled-in option given the current lack of rain.
Fry said: “He’s a horse we obviously have high hopes for over fences and we’re looking forward to seeing him out on the track again – whether that is Monday or not, that is probably unlikely given the current ground conditions.
“The weather looks like it might be beginning to change from the weekend onwards so hopefully it is not too long before we can get him out.”
The only slight disappointment in Gidleigh Park’s hurdling career was when stepped up to three miles in deep ground for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Although not disgraced when finishing sixth, Fry has made the decision to come back in distance for Gidleigh Park’s fencing endeavours in a bid to allow his natural attributes to come to the fore.
“I’m cross with myself and in hindsight that (Albert Bartlett) was the last race I should have run in him,” explained Fry.
“On the testing ground that day, they obviously sensibly went steady and we tried to hold him up to see out the trip. He’s a big, galloping horse who covers a lot of ground and that is his strength and we kind of curtailed that really.
Gidleigh Park with connections after winning at Cheltenham (Nigel French/PA)
“That is why we are keen to bring him back in trip over fences and he jumps and gallops and we just want to let him get on with it.
“When you see the size of him, everything he did over hurdles is a bonus and we’ve been looking forward to this point where we could go chasing and hopefully that is not too far away now.”
Ahead of Gidleigh Park’s impending return, Fry watched his talented novice hurdling prospect Anno Power make a winning debut over obstacles at Sandown last weekend, as she sets out to fill the void left by the retirement of the stable’s Cheltenham Festival-winning Love Envoi in the mares’ ranks.
Despite having to work harder than had been imagined to open her account over the timber, she showed great tenacity, with her handler hopeful she can steadily climb the rank as the season progresses.
Anno Power made a winning start to her hurdles career (Steven Paston/PA)
“Credit to her because 99 per cent of horses would not have got back up and won from the back of the last,” continued Fry.
“It didn’t all go smoothly on Sunday, but that is only her first run over hurdles and there is definitely room for improvement.
“She’s come out of the race OK, but there are no immediate plans of yet. We’re just letting her fully recover before deciding where we could go next.
“You would like to think she will progress through the grades and there is a good programme for mare. We would like to think we will be taking advantage of that and plotting our way through the season, but for now a win is a win and it’s hopefully onwards and upwards.”
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Harry Fry is excited to see what Gidleigh Park can achieve over fences next season following his sixth-place finish in the Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival.
Impressive on his racecourse debut in a Chepstow bumper in the spring of last year, the six-year-old this term established himself as one of Britain’s leading novice hurdlers with a hat-trick of victories.
Having claimed Grade Two honours on Festival Trials day at Cheltenham in January, the son of Walk In The Park lost his unbeaten record on his return to the Cotswolds last month, with Fry blaming a combination of three miles and heavy ground for his slightly disappointing effort.
“He’s fine, it just didn’t happen for us on the day,” said the Dorset-based trainer.
“Obviously, the ground went testing from Thursday night into Friday and suddenly we were encountering what we’d been trying to avoid, which was running him over three miles on testing ground.
“It just meant they went steady, sensibly in the conditions, which didn’t suit us and he just overraced through the early and middle part of it and didn’t give himself a chance to really see it out.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I don’t think we’d have beaten Ballyburn in the other race anyway (Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle). Probably the race we should have run in was the Supreme as it turned out, given the conditions.
“He’s fine and he’s been schooling away over fences since Cheltenham, which has gone very well, ahead of a novice chase campaign next season.
“We’ve always had half an eye on the day this horse goes novice chasing and he won’t be the first novice hurdler to get beat at the Festival and go on to better things over fences.”
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Harry Fry’s unbeaten Gidleigh Park leads the British challenge in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival.
The six-year-old has done nothing wrong in four starts so far, winning a bumper before taking two hurdle contests at a canter late last year.
He stepped up to Grade Two level at Cheltenham in January and although the race was slowly run with a sprint finish, he did what was required and put his head down to prevail by half a length from Lucky Place.
A step up in trip and grade now beckons at Cheltenham, where the strapping son of Walk In The Park looks to take the next step in his promising career.
“We’ve been delighted with everything he’s done so far, hopefully he can continue that progression,” said Fry.
Gidleigh Park and jockey Jonathan Burke (Nigel French/PA)
“He’ll certainly need to to take on the Irish horses, but I think the step up in trip should be a positive and he showed a liking to the track when winning on Trials day
“The runner-up there was fourth in the Coral Cup yesterday, our horse won the battle and came out the right side of it and tomorrow he won’t have it all his own way either.
“He’s a young horse that we’re very excited about and hopefully he can give us a good day.”
Willie Mullins has no less than five runners, with his contingent headed by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede’s Readin Tommy Wrong.
He is yet to be defeated under rules and was the winner of the Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle last time out.
Readin Tommy Wrong at Willie Mullins’ stable (Niall Carson/PA)
Dancing City also arrives in good form having won the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle on his last outing, with High Class Hero another contender yet to be outdone under rules.
Mullins said: “Readin Tommy Wrong has stamina and class, and when High Class Hero won his race in the autumn, I said to (assistant trainer) David Casey I’ll pick one race in the spring as a prep for Cheltenham, I don’t want him having a hard race at the Dublin Racing Festival and he found the race at Thurles and he came through it lovely.
“Dancing City had actually been disappointing me and then everything came right in Leopardstown, it was obviously a step up in trip and maybe nicer ground were a big help to him. I think he’ll go to the Albert Bartlett with a chance.”
Danny Mullins will take the ride on Dancing City for his uncle, and he said of the horse: “It was a surprise that he won in Leopardstown.
“He was quite disappointing on his first run of the season and then found the necessary improvement to go and win his maiden hurdle in Navan when I got to ride him.
Dancing City winning the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle (Damien Eagers/PA)
“We knew he’d have to find as much, if not more, again to go and win a Grade One, which he did, and it’s probably another step up the ladder to go and win an Albert Bartlett, but he looks in great nick at home and has the potential to do that, so you couldn’t write him off.”
Paul Nicholls runs Captain Teague, second in the Trustatrader Novices’ Hurdle at Grade Two level in November and then the winner of the Grade One Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury.
“He’s a classy horse who showed a great attitude to see off three challengers in attritional ground in the Grade One Challow Hurdle at Newbury at the end of December,” he told Betfair.
“He’s a strong stayer, conditions are right for him and he worked really well on an away day at Kempton earlier this month. He is as fresh as fresh could be and has a lovely chance. “
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Harry Fry was left pondering where to head at the Cheltenham Festival having seen his hugely-talented Gidleigh Park remain unbeaten in the SSS Super Alloys Novices’ Hurdle.
The strapping six-year-old went to Cheltenham for his Festival dress rehearsal with a perfect record of three from three, having backed up his wide-margin bumper success last term with two impressive displays over hurdles.
He was sent off the 5-6 favourite in the hands of Johnny Burke, but was made to pull out all the stops by Nicky Henderson’s 15-2 shot Lucky Place, prevailing by half a length in a tight finish.
Having scored over just shy of two miles and five furlongs, Fry now needs to decide whether Gidleigh Park remains at a similar distance for the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle or steps up to three miles for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle – a race he has won in the past with Unowhatimeanharry (2016).
“It’s a Grade Two on Trials Day and we were stepping up in grade, so we knew he needed to step up,” said Fry.
“Talking with Johnny there, the race hasn’t been run to suit and it has turned into a bit of sprint for home, but he has got down and battled and got the job done on the day.
“It’s the first time he’s had to really battle and he will have learned again and be sharper for it. But he’s almost given us more questions than answers in terms of which race to run him in in March.
“They didn’t go fast and we have to go home and reflect, but he’s won and we can’t complain about that. That’s what it is all about, a win is a win and he’s done it in spite of things being run not quite to suit, so it’s onwards and upwards.
“Come March they will go a proper gallop and he’s come here, stayed unbeaten and the dream is still alive. We will go home, enjoy it and it’s a nice dilemma to have.
“Relieved is probably the overriding feeling right now and we’ve got six weeks to now work out what race we go for.”
Fry is no stranger to handling quality young stock and although unwilling to compare him to the likes of the aforementioned Unowhatimeanharry and ill-fated Neon Wolf, he believes his future lies over the larger obstacles where the patience of winning owners, the Eyre Family, will truly be rewarded.
Gidleigh Park and connections after winning at Cheltenham (Nigel French/PA)
Fry continued: “He’s done everything right so far and I don’t like comparing horses, so we will just let him be Gidleigh Park. He will tell us how good he is on the racecourse.
“He’s a big, tall individual who was quite raw to begin with. In the outside school when we started, he could barely get round the bend and just in terms of giving him time, I’m delighted for the Eyre Family and it is their first winner here at Cheltenham.
“They have been patient and allowed us to take our time and ultimately he is a chaser, so what he is doing over hurdles is a bonus.”
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James Owen’s Burdett Road will look to consolidate his place at the head of the Triumph Hurdle market when he contests the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday.
The four-year-old, a Royal Ascot winner last June, has made the perfect start to his hurdling career.
After winning his debut at Huntingdon by 12 lengths, he then claimed a similar contest to this by an easy six and a half lengths.
The form from that race has since been boosted by the subsequent success of the second-placed An Bradan Feasa, a comfortable winner when returning to Cheltenham in December.
Harry Cobden has ridden Burdett Road in both hurdling starts and will do so again at the weekend after partnering the gelding in a pleasing schooling session at home.
Burdett Road with connections after his last Cheltenham win (Nigel French/PA)
“We couldn’t be happier with him at home and he has schooled well. Harry was in on Thursday morning and schooled him and he did well and we’re looking forward to Saturday,” said Owen.
“This is a much tougher race (than before), there’s Sir Gino and we’ve got to give weight to the (JP) McManus horse that comes over from France (Milan Tino) and might improve. This is a lot tougher and should shed a lot of light on the Triumph Hurdle, it’s a trial and it should do.
“Hopefully we’re still favourite for the Triumph at 10 past 12 on Saturday.”
On choosing this race ahead of the Unibet Hurdle, the trainer added: “We made the decision just before declarations and if Harry was available in the Unibet, we were actually swaying that way with the allowances. But Harry was riding for Paul Nicholls in that, so it just made sense to stick amongst the juveniles where Harry was available.”
Nicky Henderson’s Sir Gino is also unbeaten over hurdles, with a French Listed success followed up by a 14-length Kempton win on his British debut in late December.
Sir Gino winning at Kempton (Adam Davy/PA)
“His jumping was far from perfect at Kempton, so he’s had plenty of practice in that department and is a person we like a lot,” said Henderson via his Unibet blog.
“This is a competitive race and Burdett Road has looked very good, therefore I should imagine whoever wins will likely be favourite for the Triumph.
“Sir Gino’s work has been very good, and he would be right up there with some of our previous good juveniles we’ve had down the years.”
Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm’s Milan Tino was third behind Burdett Road at Prestbury Park in November and will receive 5lb from the two aforementioned horses when he takes his chance under Jonjo O’Neill jr.
Harry Fry’s Gidleigh Park heads the market for the SSS Super Alloys Novices’ Hurdle, a Grade Two event run over two miles and four and a half furlongs.
Gidleigh Park at Newbury (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Unbeaten in three under rules, his latest win was a nine-length Newbury triumph, his first attempt at a two-and-a-half-mile trip and a performance that inspired a step up in grade.
“We couldn’t have asked for any more than what he has done up until this point,” said Fry.
“We stepped him up in trip the last day and he showed improved form and now we are stepping up in grade, so he will have to progress again.
“We feel he is doing that at home and is maturing and progressing with his racing. It’s his first run at the track, but I don’t anticipate that giving him any problems and I’m hoping he can continue to progress as he has done so far and keep the dream alive.”
Johnnywho with Jonj and Ben after making an impressive start over hurdles at Carlisle this afternoon.
Jonjo O’Neill’s Johnnywho is a key rival, a McManus-owned gelding who was last seen finishing fourth when beaten two lengths in the Grade One Challow at Newbury.
“He’s come out of the Challow well and Jonjo was happy with him and hopefully he can come forward again and run a nice race,” said Frank Berry, racing manager to McManus.
“He looks a nice staying horse and hopefully there is more to come.”
Paul Nicholls runs Isaac Des Obeaux, a six-year-old from the family of Clan Des Obeaux who won his last two outings at Chepstow by decent margins.
“He is taking on stronger opposition after bolting up twice in ordinary races at Chepstow,” the trainer said via Betfair.
“Positive tactics seem to suit Isaac Des Obeaux who stays well, is a decent prospect and should run another tidy race. He will be a lovely chaser in time.”
There is a valuable handicap over fences in the Paddy Power Cheltenham Countdown Podcast Handicap Chase, with Nicholls set to saddle two short-priced contenders in Hitman and Il Ridoto.
The latter was narrowly beaten in the December Gold Cup over course and distance last time out and is the reigning champion in the contest having prevailed by a length 12 months ago.
“He seems to reserve his best for Cheltenham and won this race a year ago off a mark of 138,” the trainer said.
“He is now 10lb higher after a career best when he was just beaten in the last stride by Fugitif in the December Gold Cup after looking like the winner landing over the last fence with a clear lead.
Il Ridoto (right) winning at the meeting last season (David Davies/PA)
“Il Ridoto has been working beautifully at home, looks great and must have a strong chance.”
Hitman is the other runner, a horse Nicholls is hoping will improve for a wind operation.
He said: “We cauterised his palate after he ran below-par at Aintree late in October.
“He is in great shape now at home and if he runs like he did in the Ryanair Chase in March (third), he must have a live chance off a mark of 156 with Freddie Gingell taking off a valuable 5lb, but I have a feeling he might just improve a bit for the run.”
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Gidleigh Park is set to get some valuable Cheltenham experience on his next start following his impressive victory at Newbury on Wednesday.
The Walk In The Park gelding looked an above-average prospect when dominating his rivals in a Chepstow bumper in the spring and has only given that theory more weight since being sent over hurdles.
Harry Fry’s charge made an excellent start to his jumping career at Exeter last month and doubled his tally in some style under a penalty, pulling upwards of nine lengths clear of his rivals.
Paddy Power trimmed Gidleigh Park’s odds for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival to 14-1 from 25s, and the five-year-old is set to get an early sighter of Prestbury Park on Trials day at the end of January.
“I was delighted with him as it’s another step up the ladder and more experience,” said Fry.
“All being well, he’ll now step up in grade at Cheltenham on Trials Day – there’s a a Grade Two novices’ hurdle for him there.
“It’s exciting that he’s progressing the way he is and long may it continue.
“We’ll keep asking the question and see if he’s up to it. We’ll take it a race at a time, but those races are there as stepping stones to the big spring festivals and hopefully he’ll justify his place.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/274918129-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2023-12-22 11:23:492023-12-22 11:23:49Fry pencils in Trials day date for Gidleigh Park
Harry Fry is keen to bolster Gidleigh Park’s experience following his impressive hurdling debut at Exeter.
The five-year-old was an emphatic winner of a Chepstow bumper on his rules introduction back in March, pulling six-lengths clear of Ben Pauling’s The Jukebox Man, who has since franked the form in good style on two separate occasions.
Making his first start over hurdles, Gidleigh Park confirmed the promise of that Chepstow romp with an equally taking display, jumping well and only needing to be pushed out by jockey Johnny Burke for a commanding seven-and-a-half-length triumph.
Although immediately cut by the bookmakers for Graded novice events at the Cheltenham Festival, his handler is in no rush to move into deeper waters and for now plans to seek out another novice event under a penalty.
“We were very happy and he seemed to confirm the promise of his racecourse debut last spring,” said Fry.
“It’s onwards and upwards as they say and we will look forward to getting him out in a month or so under a penalty and if that goes according to plan then we can start thinking about raising his sights.
“I think it’s about experience at the moment more than anything and I think we need to get another run in, in an ordinary novice, before we start thinking about going up in grade.”
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