HARRY FRY became one of the youngest trainers in the country when he launched his career in October 2012 following five years as assistant to the multiple champion National Hunt trainer Paul Nicholls.
Chiefly in charge of Nicholls’ satellite yard at Seaborough in Dorset for his mentor Richard Barber, he was widely and deservedly credited for preparing Rock On Ruby to win the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2012. The horse was then transferred to Fry as he began his own training career seven months later.
Forward planning, attention to detail and a single minded determination to succeed saw him swiftly establish himself as one of the brightest young training talents in the industry. Bitofapuzzle provided a memorable first Grade 1 winner in 2015 and a conveyor belt of Graded and Listed race winners have followed.
The ambitious young trainer then unearthed a gem in the shape of Unowhatimeanharry just as the retirement of Rock On Ruby beckoned. A bargain basement purchase for his own Racing Club he showed startling improvement over the season which culminated with him storming up the hill at the Cheltenham Festival to claim the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novice’s Hurdle in 2016.
Ever consistent until the grand age of 12, he was winner of the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot and twice victorious in the Champion Stayers Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival.
Unowhatimeanharry wasn’t the only highly talented hurdler blessed with stamina as If The Cap Fits delivered a dramatic late winning charge in the Stayers Hurdle at Aintree, providing stable jockey Sean Bowen with his first Grade 1 at the culmination of the 2018/19 season.
Metier flew the flag for the new base near Corscombe during the 2020/21 season winning the the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown before Love Envoi announced herself as a star of the Mares’ Novice Hurdle division winning at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival under Jonathan Burke. Last season she totted up more listed success before going down fighting to finish second to the mighty mare, Honeysuckle in the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Boothill emerged as a leading novice chaser winning the Grade 2 Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase over Christmas and finishing second to the imperious Jonbon in the Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices’ Chase. On the flat, Metier provided a high-profile victory in the flagship Chester Cup.
As the dawn of a new season approaches Harry and Ciara Fry are excitedly looking forward to their fourth season training from Higher Crockermoor. A squad of talented young horses including Boothill, Love Envoi, Credrojava and Gidleigh Park (to name a few) will set the pulses racing for another rewarding campaign.
