Hennessy in mind

HARRY Fry is thinking of races such as the Hennessy Gold Cup next season for American after his hugely talented but fragile performer put up a classy display at Uttoxeter.

The trainer has to be careful picking races for the sevenyear-old, who has to have plenty of give in the ground, which is why he missed the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Not seen since winning a Grade Two contest at Warwick in January, the 2-1 favourite gave weight all round to maintain his 100% record in the Betfred TV Novices’ Handicap Chase.

Jumping superbly for Noel Fehily, American took the lead after the fifth-last fence and steadily pulled clear to win by eight lengths from Rock The Kasbah. Crosspark was a further seven lengths away in third.

Fry said: “He needed the soft ground to run at Cheltenham and it would have been a different story full stop. But there was not enough rain for him there.

“He thrives on those conditions and he jumped for fun. He is an exciting novice chaser. He is just so fragile and can only run when conditions suit. However, he is capable of performances like that. It is his knees that are the problem and it’s just a case of keeping him in one piece.

“Something like the Hennessy could be for him. We will be looking at all those sorts of races.”