WHILE Mary McCann’s racing interests on Saturday were centred on the Fermanagh hunt point-to-point at Castle Irvine, Necarne, the second day of the November meeting at Cheltenham was the focus of former show jumper Danielle McSorley and family in Newcastle, Co Dublin.

And they too had something to celebrate as last season’s Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle winner Banbridge recorded his second chase success on his second start over fences when justifying 11/8 favouritism in the Grade 2 From The Horses Mouth Podcast Arkle Trophy Trial Novices Chase under J.J. Slevin.

Trained by Joseph O’Brien, the six-year-old Doyen gelding runs in the colours of Scotland’s Ronnie Bartlett, owner of Mark Kyle’s London Olympic ride, Coolio. The chesnut, who has now won seven races from 11 starts, began his career at Loughanmore where he was trained for Wilson Dennison by Colin McKeever.

One of the great national eventing venues of the past was recalled in the concluding mares’ listed bumper on Saturday as the highly impressive winner Queens Gamble, who is trained by Oliver Sherwood for Alexander Frost and Edward Galvin, was bred in Co Meath at the Galvin family’s Ardmulchan Stud. The four-year-old Getaway chesnut, who won a mares’ bumper at Cheltenham in April on her only previous start, is out of Gambling Girl (by Hawk Wing) who won seven races when trained for the Galvins’ River Racing Partnership by Eventing Ireland president Jessica Harrington.