The 2022 November Handicap winner flies late to capitalize in a testing Chester Cup…
Harry Fry's one-time Grade 1 Supreme Novices' Hurdle fancy has been a revelation since switching to the level and proved his worth over both codes with a brilliant staying performance on the Roodee.
The seven-year-old could have been better away and subsequently found himself in the mid-to-rear division throughout the early stages. The gallop looked genuine during much of the contest, but jockey Saffie Osborne ended posted wide as the field entered the final three furlongs. Sent off in pursuit of the leading pack, the pair began to stay on purposely and it soon became apparent in the closing stages that the former Grade 1 Tolworth Novices' Hurdle winner and 5/1 shot would prevail. Hugo Palmer's Zoffee (11/1) stuck to his task well to finish a neck behind in second while the gamble of the race, Call My Bluff (11/4), produced a fine effort in defeat whilst Law Of The Sea (40/1) and Rakinsky (14/1) finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Speaking with ITV Racing an emotional Saffie Osborne said: "It means a lot I'm not really a very emotional person but going round I thought it was fairly unlikely. I got a bump coming out the stalls and I wasn't sure how likely it was going to be that I was going to get there. But this horse is all heart and he really dug in for me. He's super tough but also super talented. He's a serious horse when he gets his ground and still fairly unexposed on the flat, you'd like to think".
Trainer Harry Fry added: "I wouldn't mind a few more like him. He's got a Tolworth Hurdle, Sovereign Hurdle, November Handicap and now a Chester Cup. A wonderful horse. Everyone says it but I'm here and only part of a team. This is a great credit to all of them at home and thank you to my wife Ciara who rides him a lot. To land a big one like this it means an awful lot".
"This is hopefully the start of running a few more on the flat and it's exciting".
"Saffie has given him an absolutely wonderful ride and I'm just delighted for all involved. That's why we do this sport. For days like today".
