Harry Fry was delighted and relieved after seeing consistent star Gidley Parker get back on track with a commanding lead in the Fitzdales Lightning Novice Chase at Windsor.

The seven-year-old has been highly rated by his trainer and won both the Chepstow Bumper and the Chepstow Bumper before finishing sixth in the Albert Bartlett Trial at last season’s Cheltenham Festival The first three hurdle races.

He was expected to make a successful switch to the Chase at Kempton in November, but was pulled after jumping five fences and was later found to have cardiac fibrillation.

As a result, Gidley Parker entered this Division II matchup as a 15-2 four-man outsider under Brian Carver, but it was clear from the start that he relished the assignment, as He started off with a strong run from the flag drop and ended up winning the race. Only Caldwell Porter, the 4-6 favorite, can stand it.

Grade 1 champion hurdler Caldwell Potter was purchased by an ownership group including Sir Alex Ferguson for €740,000 (£625,000). He was in the lead when he passed the post with four clubs in his hand.

Personal Ambition was another 19 lengths back in third, while You Wear It Well finished last in four races.

Fry told sky sports racing: “I think relief was probably the overwhelming feeling, first and foremost, that he was out there, jumping, galloping, hitting the finish line hard.

“Today’s win is the icing on the cake because we want to see him get back to his best and I’m happy to see him perform like this. We’re back on track and moving forward.”

“A lot of people helped us get him back, a lot of people put in a lot of hard work and it’s great to see the hard work pay off and the dream come true.

“Over the summer, to be honest, I couldn’t believe I ran him over three miles in the Albert Bartlett because he’s not a slow horse, as he showed there today.

“We’re starting from scratch today, so we’ll go home and see how he comes out of it – obviously his health is the most important thing – and we can look forward to planning the rest of the campaign with him.”