GIDLEIGH PARK WINS A GRADE 2 AT THE WINTER MILLIONS FIXTURE

It was brilliant to see Gidleigh Park bounce back with a sparkling victory in the valuable Grade 2 Novice Chase at Windsor on Friday 17 January in the colours of the Eyre family.

My over-riding feeling was one of relief, given that he was pulled up after a few fences on his chasing debut at Kempton in November and later found to have a fibrillating heart.

Top marks to Bryan Carver who quickly realised there was something wrong with Gidleigh Park that day and had the courage to take him out of the race quickly.

Luckily his heart was back to normal within 24 hours. Since then, it has been a case of taking things slowly, following the advice of our vets, in particular Celia Marr, and quietly bringing him back to fitness again before he schooled so well last week.

It has been a big team effort at home and our patience thankfully paid off on Friday.

Two miles round a sharp track like Windsor was probably not ideal for Gidleigh Park, but we took our chance, and he made all the running with an aggressive ride from Bryan before finding more on the flat to win convincingly from the odds-on favourite Caldwell Potter.

After the disappointment of Kempton it was great to see him put in such a top performance. The main thing is that he is fine afterwards, and then hopefully it will be onwards and upwards.

While Gidleigh Park needs more experience, there are no immediate plans for him. Cheltenham is not necessarily on the agenda and it may even pay to keep him for Aintree with one more run beforehand. He is a big, long striding horse who covers the ground, jumps very well and thankfully is now back in track.