Tripoli Flyer set for chasing debut at Perth

Fergal O’Brien’s Grade Two-winning novice hurdler Tripoli Flyer will make his debut over fences at Perth on Tuesday.

The six-year-old was second behind stablemate Horaces Pearl in the Aintree bumper in April 2024, after which he switched to hurdling to take the Scottish Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Musselburgh and the Dovecote at Kempton.

Subsequently he was sixth in Aintree’s Top Novices’ Hurdle when sent off favourite and third in Punchestown’s Champion Novice Hurdle, both Grade One events, and now switches to fences in the Join Racing TV Now Kilmany Beginners’ Chase.

“We’re looking forward to him running, he’s been in good form at home,” said O’Brien.

“One or two of my horses have needed the run but fingers crossed we’ve done enough with him. It’s a good race to start him off in, there are only three runners but they’re all well rated.

“He’s taken to it very well at home so we’ve got to see him on a track now and it’ll be great if he can replicate that, he didn’t run in a point-to-point so this will be his first time jumping fences in public.”

Tripoli Flyer has largely stuck to a two-mile trip throughout his career and the Perth event is over two and a half miles, with O’Brien open-minded as to what his ideal distance will be as a chaser.

He said: “We’ll get tomorrow out of the way and go from there, he’s always been very fast at home and ideally we’d have liked to have started over two miles but it was hard to find a race going right-handed.

“We’re looking forward to getting going with him, anyway, and seeing how he gets on over a fence.”

Jet To Vegas, fourth in the Aintree race, and Olly Murphy’s Kingston Pride are his only two rivals.