'That wasn't bad for a racecourse gallop' - Fry rolls Doncaster dice and wins

If the ground is too quick to run your star hurdler over jumps, why not win the November Handicap on the Flat instead?

That is how it worked out for Harry Fry, who admitted he ran mudlark Metier in the £70,000 feature event on the last day of the British turf season only because he was running out of other options.

"That wasn't bad for a racecourse gallop!" the trainer joked of his six-year-old's length-and-a-quarter win under Saffie Osborne.

"We know he relishes testing conditions and it was only on Monday that I was flicking through and thought Doncaster looked like being soft.

"We'd been scratching our heads as there was nowhere really to get him started with ground conditions like that over obstacles, so we thought we'd put him in and have a look.

"As the week and the weather panned out it made sense, so we thought we'd roll the dice. He'd either be fast enough or he wouldn't, and it turned out he was.

"We've always been keen to try him back on the level, we bought him out of that sphere, and that does set him up nicely for the winter campaign."

That winter campaign may not start immediately for Metier, who won the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown in 2020-21 and landed a £100,000 handicap at the inaugural Lingfield Million last winter.

"He has an entry in the Greatwood at Cheltenham next Sunday, but I don't imagine conditions will be soft enough," Fry said.

Harry Fry: 'He has an entry in the Greatwood at Cheltenham next Sunday but I don't imagine conditions will be soft enough'Credit: Edward Whitaker

"He schooled over fences a couple of weeks ago, so we were exploring all options, but on the back of winning like that on the Flat there are some valuable prizes he can run in over hurdles, and we'll look to go where he gets his ground.

"One place we know for sure he'll get that with a bit of luck is back at Lingfield in January for the Winter Million, where he was successful last season. We'll just try to place him to best effect when he has conditions in his favour."

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