CHARLIE Longsdon is looking to take another step up the ladder after enjoying his best season at his Chipping Norton yard.

Having sent out an impressive 78 winners over jumps from Hull Farm last term, the 38-year-old handler is eager for more.

His success hasn’t gone unnoticed, and that was mirrored by a crowd approaching 350 descending on his yard when he opened his stable gates to the public.

“It was a great day, and it’s always nice to have so many people here,” he said.

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“There’s a lot to look forward to with a lot of novice hurdlers and bumper horses.

“I will be disappointed if we can’t have a few horses running in decent races come the spring.”

Last season his runners operated at a 20 per cent strike rate, and collected £496,742 in total prize-money.

Reflecting on those figures, while at the time same time looking ahead to a new campaign, he added: “We have got to go and repeat that and better that.

“I always think you should try and get as many winners as you have horses, and we have 80-plus.”

Longsdon, who already has 13 successes this season, laid on a jumping exhibition in the outdoor school for the attentive audience.

Stable jockey Noel Fehily, Kielan Woods and Charlie Deutsch put six horses through their paces, including Drop Out Joe, a dual winner over hurdles last season, who is expected to shine over fences this term.

Back in the yard, Longsdon, boosted by a five-year sponsorship deal with Enstone-based PVC fencing firm Duralock, then paraded around 60 more of his string.

Ely Brown, winner of the Grade 2 Towton Novices’ Chase at Wetherby, will have the Crabbie’s Grand National at Aintree as his long-term target.

Killala Quay was another Grade 2 winner last term when scoring over hurdles at Sandown, and his attention will now be turned to fences, starting at Fontwell on October 22.

Pendra, who came agonisingly close to providing the trainer with an elusive first Cheltenham Festival winner when third at the meeting in March, is set to run in big handicap chases, for which his handler feels he will be on a good mark.

The likes of Battle Born, Our Kaempfer, A Vos Gardes, No No Manolito and No No Romeo, who sparkled in National Hunt Flat Races last season, are now ready to graduate to hurdles.

And at the same time it’s hoped a fresh crop of youngsters, including Deadly Move, Kiteney Wood, Atlantic Gold, Simply The West and Bestwork, can follow in their hoofprints when they set foot on a racecourse.

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