The Cheltenham November meeting has no shortage of intriguing runners, but few arrive with greater ambitions than Idaho Sun. Harry Fry‘s six-year-old has won five of his six starts and remains unbeaten over hurdles.
He has not been seen since landing a Grade 1 at Aintree on Boxing Day last year. Sunday’s Greatwood Hurdle at 3.10pm could be the race that brings him back, so here are the key facts before his potential return.
Five from six and unbeaten over hurdles
Idaho Sun made a winning debut in a bumper at Newton Abbot in October 2024 before following up at Windsor in January. That earned him a crack at the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival, where he finished a highly respectable sixth of the 17 runners.
He has not been beaten since. He was switched to hurdles last autumn, winning novice events at Fontwell and Bangor, the second of them on heavy ground. Bryan Carver has been in the saddle for all six of his races.
Those two wins earned him a step up to Grade 1 company in the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree. Dan Skelton’s Mydaddypaddy was the hot favourite, but Idaho Sun travelled smoothly before being sent to the front. Mydaddypaddy looked a big threat turning in but Idaho Sun kept finding for pressure before driving clear to win by three-and-a-quarter lengths. Beating the Supreme favourite in that manner put Fry’s novice firmly on the map.
That victory made him one of the leading contenders for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in March. Instead, injury struck in the week prior to the Festival. Fry later revealed he had suffered a stress fracture to his hock.
Is 142 a fair starting point?
The handicapper has given Idaho Sun an official rating of 142 for his handicap debut. That is a lofty mark for a horse who has run only three times over hurdles, but the lack of experience so far has been made up for by that top level triumph at Aintree. He has far greater scope for improvement than most of his likely rivals.
Coming back from such a long break in a race as competitive as the Greatwood is no easy task. Fitness will be the big question, but he has won first time out in both of his previous campaigns.
Fry does have other options should he wish to exercise them. Idaho Sun is also among the 12 entries for the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on Saturday 28 November, where Mydaddypaddy could be waiting for a rematch.
Whichever route he takes, he is still only six. His name already appears among the possible entries for the Champion Hurdle in March, so if he picks up where he left off at Aintree, the biggest two-mile hurdles of the season could soon be on his agenda.
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