Exeter not out of the question for Idaho Sun before Cheltenham

Harry Fry is considering a possible stop-off at Exeter on the way to the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle with Idaho Sun.

Sixth in the Champion Bumper at last year’s Cheltenham Festival, the six-year-old is unbeaten in three starts over obstacles, completing his hat-trick with a Grade One victory over Dan Skelton’s long-time Supreme favourite Mydaddypaddy in the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Fry immediately identified the Festival curtain-raiser in March as his major target and whether he will run again between now and then is undecided at this stage.

He said: “He’s come out of it well, I thought it was a very good performance and all roads hopefully lead to the Supreme in March now.

“We’re very much working towards that. I think there’s only one race we could or would run him in beforehand and that’s at Exeter on February 8 – there’s a two-mile Listed novice hurdle.

“Obviously we’ve got the decision to make, whether we go straight to Cheltenham with a racecourse gallop before or go to that Exeter race. It would give him more experience, especially on an undulating track, which did just catch him out when he ran in the Champion Bumper last year.

“I’m not anticipating there to be any issues, but he did get unbalanced coming down the hill, so there is the potential for giving him more experience on a track like Exeter en route to the Supreme, hopefully.”

While Mydaddypaddy’s odds-on reverse at Aintree was a shock to many, Fry does not think there was any fluke about Idaho Sun’s success in a race in which four of the nine obstacles were omitted due to low sun.

He said: “Dan’s horse is obviously a very smart novice as well and the race panned out exactly how we thought it would, in terms of we expected Mydaddypaddy to be seemingly travelling very well on our quarters turning in, but Bryan (Carver, jockey) was of the opinion that he’d try to wind it up and make it a good test and try to get the favourite off the bridle, which he did.

“He was never going to go past us by the time they went past what would have been the last flight of hurdles and I don’t buy into this theory that taking the hurdles out helped us – I think taking the hurdles out was a disadvantage to us as well and in fact, first time up the straight we could definitely have done with the hurdles as he was a bit keen in Bryan’s hands.

“I think we definitely won fair and square and they’re two smart novices. I know how highly Dan has spoken of his horse, but prior to the race I didn’t feel either he or us had achieved more than one another, so it was up for grabs and it was great to come out on top and win going away.

“I can’t wait to take him back to Cheltenham where we’ve got unfinished business. I’d just love it to be a soft-ground Supreme and the stiff finish would really play to our strengths. I can’t wait to get him there in tip-top form in March.”