CHARLIE Longsdon broke his Cheltenham jinx when Atlantic Gold stormed up the famous hill to claim a long-awaited victory for the Chipping Norton trainer on Saturday.

Longsdon’s only previous winner at Prestbury Park was Paintball in April 2011, since when he had failed to hit the target with his last 74 runners there.

But 7-2 shot Atlantic Gold put an end to the barren run when galloping home by two and three-quarter lengths from Mont Choisy in a three-mile novices’ hurdle under Aidan Coleman.

Longsdon said: “Everyone says to me about my Cheltenham record, but we have got rid of that hoodoo and hopefully we will have a few more winners here now.”

Atlantic Gold received the biggest cheer of the day when he returned to the winner’s enclosure with the trainer supported by a large group of family and friends.

And Longsdon added: “He is as honest as they come. He just tries and he had his ears pricked all the way.

“There was a lot of screaming to get this one home.

“He needs every bit of three miles and as Aidan said there will be a decent three-mile chase in him, and that is where his future lies.”

Cheltenham winners may have proved elusive for Longsdon, but his forays to Carlisle have been highly successful, and he added to his tally at the Cumbrian track with a double courtesy of Western Miller and Monbeg Charmer.

The pair formed part of a four-timer for Richard Johnson, with Western Miller making a winning debut over hurdles with a six-lengths success in a two-and-a-half-mile novices’ event.

“He’s a nice horse, it’s nice to get him going and hopefully he’ll go on to bigger and better things,” said Longsdon.

Monbeg Charmer, a £120,000 purchase after winning a point-to-point in Ireland, paid the first bit of that price tag back, by landing a National Hunt Flat Race over two miles and a furlong in good style.