Harry Fry was equal parts delighted and relieved after seeing stable star Gidleigh Park get his season back on track with a first-place win in the Fitzdares Lightning Novice Chase at Windsor.
Always well-regarded by his trainer, the seven-year-old won the Chepstow Bumper and his first three starts over hurdles before finishing sixth in the Albert Bartlett at last season's Cheltenham Festival.
He was favorite to make the successful switch to the Chase at Kempton in November but was withdrawn after jumping five fences and was later found to be suffering from heart fibrillation.
As a result, Gidleigh Park went into this Grade Two contest as 15-2 outsiders from four under Bryan Carver, but it was clear from an early stage that he was relishing the task as he broke into a strong gallop from the drop of the flag to just 4 -6 Favorites Caldwell Potter Could Live With.
The winning hurdler Caldwell Potter, a €740,000 (£625,000) purchase on behalf of an ownership group that includes Sir Alex Ferguson, appeared a major danger early on in the home but Gidleigh Park continued to gallop 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 the four from start to finish.
Fry said Sky Sports Racing: “I think relief is probably the most important feeling, first of all he went out and jumped and galloped and hit the line hard.
“Today's win was the icing on the cake as we wanted him to be back at his best and obviously I'm delighted to see him put in a performance like that. We are back on track and on and up.
“A lot of people helped us get it back, a lot of people put in a lot of effort and it's great to see that hard work has paid off and the dream is alive.
“All summer I couldn't believe I ran him over three miles in the Albert Bartlett, to be honest, because he's not a slow horse, as he was shown there today.
“We started from scratch today, so we'll go home and see how he comes out of it – obviously his welfare is paramount – and we can look forward to planning the rest of the campaign with him.”