Carte Diamond, one of the Gazette & Herald's 'Ten To Follow', will bid to sparkle at the Cheltenham Festival on Friday and provide Norton trainer Brian Ellison with a long-overdue first winner at the most prestigious National Hunt gathering of the year.

Ellison has gone through the gamut of emotions at this showpiece meeting in the Cotswolds. In 2002 and 2003, he enjoyed the thrill and excitement of seeing his then stable-star Latalomne out in front in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, only for the horse to fall at the second-last fence on each occasion.

"For it to happen once was bad enough, but twice was unbelievable," says Ellison, recalling the carbon-copy exits which robbed him of a chance of Cheltenham glory.

"I think he would have won the first year," says Brian. "As for the second time, I think I would have been happy to see him finish second to Moscow Flyer."

Carte Diamond bids to erase the frustrating memories of Latalomne in the JCB Triumph Hurdle, a £100,000 race, which has been his target since he ran over jumps for the first time at Newcastle last November.

That race came close on the heels of a memorable triumph on the level. In the hands of Kieren Fallon, Carte Diamond had won the November Handicap at Doncaster, fully justifying the 105,000 guineas Ellison had paid Mark Johnston's Middleham stable on behalf of Brighton owner Ashley Carr only the previous month.

"I have never felt so nervous before a race as when this horse ran first time over hurdles at Newcastle," admits Ellison. "There was a lot riding on it. Given that he's a highly-rated Flat horse, I knew that if he did his job right, we could have a Triumph Hurdle horse on our hands. But I also knew that if he didn't take to it - and not all of them do, no matter how well they jump hurdles at home - we could be forgetting about hurdling and instead, taking him home, gelding him, and putting him away for the Flat this year."

As it was, Carte Diamond won well, keeping the Triumph Hurdle dream alive. Although he was beaten next time out at Lingfield, Ellison blamed the "bottomless" ground for that lack-lustre display.

Carte Diamond has since returned to the winning groove with a pillar-to-post win at Musselburgh when he was equipped with a tongue-tie for the first time. He will wear it again at Cheltenham, where he will be teamed-up with new jockey Brian Harding, who replaces Richard Johnson.

Ellison has been pleased with Carte Diamond's big-race preparation, which included a racecourse gallop at Southwell some 10 days ago.

The ground promises to be in the horse's favour, and although the Triumph is a notoriously rough race with a huge field, Ellison believes the rough-and-tumble of such an event will bring out the best in his Cheltenham hope.

"He has run in competitive races on the Flat, which will stand him in good stead, and he's the sort of horse you can put anywhere in a race, plus he jumps well," says the trainer.

The scene then is set for Carte Diamond to strut his stuff. Not since the Mick Easterby-trained Peterhof in 1976 has a Ryedale horse managed to lift the Triumph. Victory on Friday for the big local hope is long overdue.

Flight Command, another of the Gazette's 'Ten to Follow' nominations, will also be at Cheltenham in a bid to fly the Ryedale flag at full mast.

The Peter Beaumont-trained gelding, twice a winner this season, is set to contest the £80,000 Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase, one of the new races at the extended four-day Festival.

Beaumont, seeking to land his first win at the meeting since Hussard Collonges landed the Royal & Sun Alliance Novices' Chase in 2002, has always had a high opinion of Flight Command, who was successful at Wetherby and Bangor this season.

The Brandsby trainer has booked Grand National-winning jockey Graham Lee to partner the lightly-weighted Flight Command, and has also engaged the Cleveland-based rider to team up with Hunters Tweed in the Mildmay of Flete Handicap Chase on the same card.

Hunters Tweed, sidelined for much of this season with injury, has shaped well since returning to the fray. Furthermore, he is a previous winner on the course, having chalked-up a valuable success in a Cheltenham handicap, with Lee in the saddle, 14 months ago.

The Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle, the very last race of the Festival on Friday, is set to host at least a couple of local runners.

Brian Ellison is aiming to saddle the versatile Torrid Kentavr, the mount of Brian Harding, while Malcolm Jefferson has Calatagan, a previous course winner, to be ridden by Tony Dobbin. Both trainers are also in the thick of the action 48 hours earlier - Ellison with Zibeline in the Coral Cup and Jefferson with Roman Ark in the Royal & Sun Alliance Novices' Hurdle.

Flat jockey George Duffield, who has been struggling with an injury since last summer, has announced his retirement from the saddle at the age of 58, and after a sparkling career spanning more than 40 years.

Duffield's only regret, it seems, is that he failed to fulfil his final objective, which was to overhaul the grand total of winners - 2,593 - ridden by former top Malton jockey Edward Hide, and move into eighth place in the all-time jockeys' list, headed by Sir Gordon Richards.

As it is, Duffield retires in tenth place in the illustrious table with a final tally of 2,547 winners, no fewer than 836 of which were supplied by Newmarket trainer Sir Mark Prescott, with whom Duffield was famously associated for 30 years.

Hugely popular and respected, George Duffield, who received an MBE in 2003, lives near Bedale and will now concentrate on helping wife Ann in her training operation.

Russ Garritty may be one of the most senior jump jockeys in Britain, but the Ryedale rider continues to defy his advancing years.

The chance of a 'spare' ride on Briars Mist at Ayr on Saturday, following an injury to Ritchie McGrath, saw Garritty at his most determined as he got the handicap chaser home in a photo-finish on behalf of County Durham trainer Chris Grant, one of his former weighing-room colleagues.

"I don't know what Russ is on, but I wouldn't mind some of it!" joked Grant, adding, "He's ridden the horse like a teenager and there's nobody stronger in a finish."

Grant's direct praise to Garritty was typically played down by the jockey himself. "You can't do anything without the horse," said Russ.

Forget Cheltenham for a moment and think of the Grand National at Aintree next month, or, more to the point, the Malton Racing Association's Grand National Ball, which will be held, as usual, at York Racecourse on the evening of the great race on Saturday, April 9.

If you fancy a VIP hospitality package, courtesy of bookmakers Sky Bet, for four people at York races next summer (though not at the Royal Ascot meeting), or a one-hour pleasure flight, donated by Lin Johnson of Fadmoor, then get your bids in at the Grand Auction, which is one of the night's main fund-raisers.

The Injured Jockeys' Fund and the Tsunami Appeal Fund will be the beneficiaries this year and among other items likely to come under the hammer is a pair of racing breeches signed by Frankie Dettori.

Tickets are £45 for this major annual black-tie event, and are being snapped up fast. Anyone who has not yet made arrangements - and that includes local trainers, owners, jockeys and stable staff - should contact MRA secretary Noel Scaling on 07855 228757 as soon as possible, otherwise they may be disappointed.

Updated: 10:58 Wednesday, March 16, 2005