A Ryedale trainer, with two Cheltenham Festival winners to his credit, is hoping to bridge a 10-year gap and make it three at next week's showpiece meeting of the National Hunt season.

Malcolm Jefferson is set to be strongly represented by Roman Ark, a triple-winner this season, who has options of running in either Tuesday's Letheby & Christopher Supreme Novices' Hurdle over two miles or the Royal & Sun Alliance Novices' Hurdle over two miles and five furlongs the next day.

Both races boast Grade One status and £100,000 in prize money, but Jefferson will not make up his mind which of the two to aim for until the end of the week.

"If it comes up soft, he'll go for the two-miler, but if it dries out and it's looking more likely to ride good ground, he'll go for the longer race," explained Jefferson, who reports Roman Ark to be in tip-top form as his date with destiny approaches.

"He's never stopped thriving this season and has been very straightforward to train," said Malcolm, who has placed the gelding to win at Carlisle and twice at Haydock.

Roman Ark's latest outing was at Newbury in the £100,000 Totesport Trophy Hurdle in which he finished ninth of the 25 runners. Unplaced he may have been, but Jefferson was far from disappointed with his performance.

"It was a very unsatisfactory race," he explained. "What we were hoping for was fast and furious stuff, but, after dropping in behind the leaders, the pace slackened right off after they'd jumped the first hurdle and they crawled for a mile.

"In the circumstances, I thought he ran a blinder - you certainly couldn't be disappointed with him - and he would have finished at least one place, probably two places closer, if he hadn't made a bit of a horlicks at the final flight."

Roman Ark will be bidding to provide Jefferson with a welcome return to the winners' enclosure at Cheltenham, a position every trainer, owner and jockey in the land craves to enter at one time or another.

Malcolm was last successful at the Festival with Dato Star, who won the Championship Bumper under Mark Dwyer in 1995, a victory which came just 12 months after Jefferson had broken his duck at the all-important meeting with Tindari, who won the Pertemps Hurdle Final at 20-1 under Paul Williams.

"There is no secret, as such, to having a winner at Cheltenham - all you want is a very good horse," he said. "Any horse that's not quite up to it will struggle to hold a place and will meet all sorts of trouble, because they're not quick enough to get out of it. But a good horse will be able to race comfortably and avoid the trouble.

"That's the one good thing about Roman Ark. He's a horse who travels well in his races and jumps well. Hopefully, he'll also run well."

Jefferson, who sent out the in-form Polar Gunner to win at Market Rasen last Sunday, could well be double-handed at the Cheltenham meeting. He may also run Calatagan in the Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle on Thursday.

"He won on the course earlier this season, which is in his favour," said the Newstead trainer, "but what wouldn't help us is if Rooster Booster runs in the County Hurdle as well as the Champion Hurdle, because he's set to carry top-weight and we're currently 'out of the handicap'. We could do with him coming out and the weights rising a few pounds."

One way or another, an exciting week lies ahead for Malcolm. In Roman Ark, in particular, he has the right sort of vessel with which to make a memorable Cheltenham voyage.

John Quinn is hoping to saddle Aleron in the opening race of the Cheltenham Festival.

The Settrington trainer has been delighted with the gelding's transition from flat racing to hurdling, which has resulted in Aleron gaining a brace of wins this winter.

The Supreme Novices' Hurdle now beckons, and although Quinn is under no illusions that the race is likely to prove too strong for his charge, he is optimistic of seeing Aleron produce a creditable display.

"He is entitled to run, he'll give his owner Graham Liles a great thrill, and I could see him running a respectable race," says Quinn.

Former Malton trainer Colin Tinkler, now based in Berkshire, has a strong contender at the Festival meeting.

Oscar Park carries Tinkler's hopes in the Weatherby's Champion Bumper, and last month's Warwick winner is fancied to be involved in the finish.

Tinkler, successful as a jockey at the Festival back in the 1970s, formerly trained at Musley Bank in Malton, but, after a couple of years in Spain, returned to Britain last year and is now based at George Ward's Compton yard, near Lambourn.

The Tinkler string is clearly in good heart as the big meeting approaches, a fact confirmed by the success of seven-length winner Native Ivy at Doncaster last Friday.

A close eye on the weather will be required before final Festival plans are made for Pay Attention, who has been beaten only once in five starts over hurdles this season.

Trained by Tim Easterby for Ryedale Partners, Pay Attention underlined her continued wellbeing when landing a decent prize on her latest start at Towcester three weeks ago.

The four-year-old holds an entry in Tuesday's £75,000 Fred Winter Novices' Handicap Hurdle, but Easterby warns that she will miss this Listed Cheltenham contest unless ground conditions are suitable.

"She likes very soft ground and we'd only run her if that was what she was going to find at Cheltenham," said Easterby.

The Great Habton trainer was on the mark at Doncaster last Saturday with Classic Event, who battled on strongly to beat A Bit Of Fun in the opening novices' handicap hurdle.

"The 'lad' who rides him out at home deserves all the praise," joked Easterby, directing the recognition towards Russ Garritty, the winning jockey. "He's been quite keen and Russ rides him out every day and has spent a lot of time teaching him to settle."

Rachel Clark enjoyed a red-letter day at Market Rasen last Sunday when riding her first winner under National Hunt Rules.

The 23-year-old amateur from Farlington gained a wide-margin 6-1 success on Supreme Silence in the novices' hunters' chase. The eight-year-old, trained in Lincolnshire by Nick Kent, came home a distance clear after the favourite Vicar's Lad had crashed out at the final fence just as he was headed by the winner.

Clark, who was adding this success to her tally of five point-to-point victories, is a well-known face on the northern racing circuit as she rides-out daily, and also does much of the racecourse travelling duties, for Sheriff Hutton trainer Mick Easterby.

Ryedale racing has lost one of its stalwarts in Jim Harris, who died last week, aged 73.

Harris, who was retired and lived at Pickering, had enjoyed a long career in racing, starting out with the late Walter Easterby at Towton, near Tadcaster.

Jim eventually settled at Musley Bank, Malton where, particuarly through the 1980s, he ran a successful stud and was actively involved on the northern bloodstock scene, buying and selling foals, yearlings, two-year-olds and mares.

A colourful character, who always had a tale to tell, Jim will be missed by all who knew him.

Updated: 15:29 Wednesday, March 09, 2005