Kalane rewarded Chipping Norton trainer Charlie Longsdon’s kid gloves approach by landing the EBF & TBA Mares’ “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle Finale at Newbury on Saturday.

The six-year-old didn’t have the easiest of passages in the Listed handicap over two miles and five furlongs.

But Noel Fehily managed to weave his way through on the 10-1 chance, before forging clear after the last to beat Hannah’s Princess by three and a quarter lengths.

Longsdon said: “It’s good to get televised Channel 4 Saturday winners at a Grade 1 track like Newbury.

“She is a good mare, so it helps.”

He added that Kalane had overcome several problems.

“It has been a serious team effort from our end,” he said. “She got a leg (injury) in France before she came to us and Paul (Murphy, owner) told me we would never get her to the racecourse.

“We did and she won first time out, and Noel said then she is a seriously nice mare, go for the mares’ final.

“Then she was lame behind for three months, and we have just been training her with kid gloves.

“We knew she was a nice mare and she was off a potentially nice (handicap) mark.”

Longsdon added that Kalane could now go to Punchestown next month.

Fehily said: “She got me out of trouble a bit today. It was a very, very rough race.

“She has only had two runs in this country over hurdles, and early on I was getting knocked down, so I said just give her a chance and luckily she came good in the end.

“She is just a very good mare, and we have liked her all season.

“Charlie has done well keeping her sound. She is not easy to train, so it’s a good result. I think there is a lot more to come from this one.”

Longsdon completed an across-the-card double when Shantou Magic justified 4-9 favouritism by taking a Bangor novices’ chase under Will Kennedy by a length.