IRISH trainers accounted for nine of 14 runners in Friday’s cross country chase at Cheltenham and it was Gavin Cromwell who landed top honours with the effortless Stumptown, under an ice-cool Keith Donoghue.

Cromwell and Donoghue have two chances to add to their haul at Saturday’s fixture, beginning with Total Look in the 12.10 opener, the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle. Successful in a Roscommon maiden in May, he was rated 87 on the flat before switching to hurdles last month, when he justified favouritism in a three-year-old maiden hurdle at Navan.

Speaking to The Irish Field on Friday, his trainer commented: “He got off to a great start at Navan and hopefully he can build on that. He seems in good form, so we’d be hopeful.”

At the time of writing, the Irish raider is second favourite, the market headed by James Owen’s Lavender Hill Mob, a half-brother to James Garfield who was well-backed when finishing second on his hurdle debut last month.

The favourite’s stablemate Ambiente Amigo is next in the betting, the highly-rated flat performer having drawn clear on his hurdle bow. He went on to finish third, beaten 15 lengths, in a listed event in which Owen’s Opec completed a hat-trick, with the Joseph O’Brien-trained Prairie Angel in second.

That was one of the first tests between the British and Irish juveniles, as is Saturday’s opener, and should prove informative, Cromwell agrees. “Yeah, and then, of course, the track and the padded hurdles will be new to him as well, so we’ll see how we get on.”

Cheltenham dreams

Theonewedreamof represents another strong chance for Cromwell and Donoghue in the Quintessentially Mares’ Handicap Chase at 1.13, where she is currently second of 17 runners in the betting.

“She’s fresh, and she runs well fresh, to be fair to her,” the trainer reports. “We had this race in mind for her for a little while- we loved the idea of coming here. She’s in good form, so hopefully she has a good chance.”

Twice a winner on the flat, and once over hurdles, the five-year-old won her second start over fences at Tipperary in July. Her owners, the Golfcrest Syndicate, were well-represented on the day, and are looking forward to Saturday. “They’re getting a few days out of it,” their trainer says.