Trainer Harry Fry looks set to rely on some of his stable-stars at this month’s Punchestown Festival as a strong battalion heads over the Irish Sea from the Dorset handler’s base for the meeting which takes place from Tuesday April 25 to Saturday April 29.
The list is headed by smart staying chaser American who missed the Cheltenham Festival on account of the drying ground. However, the gelding won on the Saturday after Cheltenham with a facile eight length success at Uttoxeter, jumping smartly and putting the race to bed with ease.
Fry’s charge would need soft ground but the trainer is keen to target the G1 Growise Champion Novice Chase (April 25) at the iconic meeting.
The trainer looks set to also send Stayers’ Hurdle third Unowhatimeanharry, owned by J P McManus, and who started a warm order for the three mile championship hurdling showpiece at Prestbury Park.
He looks set to take his chance in the G1 Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle (April 27).
Regarding the duo, Fry remarked:
American likes a bit of juice in the ground and as long as he gets that we’re taking him to Punchestown for the Growise Champion Novice Chase. We said all along we weren’t going to Cheltenham because the ground had dried out too much. I’ve no regrets about missing Cheltenham. We waited for the right ground and he backed that up with a really good performance at Uttoxeter.
I was thrilled with his win at Uttoxeter and hopefully on his ground he’s right up there with the good novices. The plan with Unowhatimeanharry is to go the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle.
We decided the course was just drying out a bit too much at Aintree so it’s roll on Punchestown for us. It’s looking like it will be a really good race and we’ll try again on another day against the horses we met at Cheltenham.
