BRIAN ELLISON, enjoying his best ever jumps season, has his Norton team in red-hot form in advance of the all-important Cheltenham Festival, which starts next Tuesday.

Ellison, who plans to have five runners throughout National Hunt racing’s four-day ‘Olympics’, has had 44 winners this season – four more than his previous-best total set in 2012-13 – and is maintaining a startling strike-rate of 21 per cent with his runners this term. Furthermore, he has sent out six winners in the last couple of weeks, including Sam’s Adventure, who made the long journey to Newbury last Saturday and came away with a slender success and a first prize of £29,505 in the DBS Spring Sales Bumper.

Given a rousing ride by Danny Cook, the four-year-old went to the front before half-way and although strongly tackled from three furlongs out, refused to concede defeat and crossed the line with a nose to spare.

“I thought he was going to get swallowed up,” said Ellison. “But he stuck to it really well.”

Sam’s Adventure, who was following up a debut success at Wetherby last month, when he scored by no less than 19 lengths, looks an exciting talent. The chances are, however, that he will not be seen out again this season.

“He’s a big raw horse, still a baby,” explained his trainer. “I’ll finish him now and bring him back in two-and-a-half mile hurdles next season. He’ll be a three-miler eventually.”

Ellison took two of his Cheltenham runners on an away-day to Southwell last Thursday to put the finishing touches to them before their Festival assaults.

Smart Talk and Definitly Red galloped a mile and a quarter around the Fibresand circuit. “They didn’t go mad, but they quickened up nicely in the straight and, because we had heart monitors on them, which also provides other information, they were doing 36 miles-per-hour, quite easily, over the last couple of furlongs. I was pleased. They worked well and are in good order,” said the Spring Cottage trainer.

While Smart Talk, winner of four of her last five starts, will contest the Trull House Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, Defintly Red’s target is still to be confirmed. “He’s in the RSA Chase and the National Hunt Chase over four miles,” said Ellison. “The ground will dictate which race he runs in, but I expect it to be the best ground we’ve raced on for several months.”

Five In A Row, Zaidyn and Totalize will complete his Cheltenham raiding party as he seeks his first Festival winner after many years of trying.

While Smart Talk and Defintly Red were strutting their stuff on the all-weather, Apterix was winning over hurdles at Ludlow. The gelding, successful on the Flat in last summer’s Queen’s Mother Cup Ladies’ Handicap at York, was ridden to victory by Megan Carberry, who was extending her extraordinary sequence to four wins from eight rides under National Hunt Rules this season.

“He jumped as well for Megan as I’ve ever seen him jump,” says Ellison, who is hoping that Carberry will ride another winner at Catterick on Wednesday on Fair Loch in the opening race.

Come Saturday at Sandown and the in-form Ellison will be represented by Point The Way, winner of his last three starts, in the £60,000 EBF Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Final, a big-race bid before all signs point the way to Cheltenham next week.

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Adam McNamara made it two wins from eleven rides for Richard Fahey when scoring on Gabrial The Duke at Lingfield on Saturday, wearing the colours of Dr Marwan Koukash, also the owner of his previous winner, Summerinthecity last month.

The teenage apprentice, who was previously attached to the stables of former champion jockey Johnny Murtagh, for whom he had nine unsuccessful mounts, joined Fahey last summer and had his first ride for the Musley Bank trainer in December and has never looked back since.

McNamara, who trains regularly at Jack Berry House, rode an enterprising race on Gabrial The Duke, seizing the initiative off the home turn after a dawdling gallop had been set, and getting the 7-4 favourite home by three-parts of a length.

Callum Shepherd was another Ryedale apprentice seen to good effect last week. The 5lb claimer, who joined Brian Ellison’s yard a couple of months ago, scored on the Roger Teal-trained Jack Of Diamonds at Wolverhampton on a card which also featured wins for Ian Brennan aboard the John Quinn-trained Project Bluebook, the 5-6 favourite, and fellow Ryedale jockey Tom Eaves, who registered a 25-1 success aboard Miss Buckaroo, trained by James Given.

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Brian Hughes’ loss was Jamie Hamilton’s gain at Sedgefield on Sunday when the young Malton conditional rider gained a 22-1 success in fortuitous fashion on Oak Vintage in the opening novices’ hurdle.

When Ryedale Racer, ridden by Hughes for Norton trainer Malcolm Jefferson, raced into a five lengths lead rounding the home turn, the race looked as good as over. But a blunder by the odds-on favourite at the penultimate hurdle caused Hughes to be unseated and presented the lead to Oak Vintage who proceeded to make the most of his good fortune to carry Hamilton to a six-length victory on behalf of Tyneside trainer Ann Hamilton, who is no relation to the winning rider.

Hughes went on to ride a double on the card, initiated by Attention Seeker, who scored at 13-2 by no less than 23 lengths for Tim Easterby.

The Great Habton trainer is set to be doubly-represented at Cheltenham next week by Hawk High in either the Coral Cup or County Hurdle and Our Thomas in the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle – a race won by Hawk High two years ago.

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Julie Camacho opened her winning account on the Flat for 2016 when Bint Arcano, previously trained in Germany, produced a solid performance at Wolverhampton last weekend to prevail at 11-4 in the hands of James Sullivan.

The lightly-raced filly, a daughter of Arcano, could prove a useful addition to Camacho’s Norton stable, which sent out a creditable ten winners from only 86 runners last season, with prize money earnings of more than £127,000.

Wilde Inspiration, who contributed to that tally, is an interesting entry in the Betway Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster’s traditional Flat turf meeting on April 2. Although unlikely to make the cut in the main event, the gelding, who finished off last term with a useful-placed effort at York, could be interesting in the consolation race, the Betway Spring Mile at the same fixture.

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Latest news from overseas is that Ryedale Flat jockey Jake Butterfield has ridden his second Group 1 winner of the winter season in Bahrain.

Butterfield, who is attached to Ollie Pears’ Norton yard, has enjoyed a good time of things in Bahrain and is due back home shortly, along with Duran Fentiman, also Bahrain-based in recent months, but successful in a valuable race in Qatar a couple of weeks ago.

The domestic Flat turf season kicks-off at Musselburgh on Good Friday (March 25), with the traditional Doncaster curtain-raiser the following weekend, highlighted by the Lincoln Handicap.

This Saturday sees the William Hill Lincoln Trial taking place at Wolverhampton. Fahey has three entries in Energia Flavia, Withernsea and Abbey Angel, while Tim Easterby has awarded entries to Father Bertie and new recruit Snoano, a former Classic hopeful with John Gosden before losing his way last term. He is the right hands to regain some direction to his once promising career.