CHARLIE Longsdon enjoyed a red letter day with Pendra and Kilcooley posting big-race victories in a sparkling 291-1 across-the-card treble for his Chipping Norton stables on Saturday.

Longsdon hailed it as his “best day as a trainer” after Pendra gave him his most valuable success in the Sodexo Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Ascot following Kilcooley’s runaway victory in the bet365 West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby.

With Masterplan (13-2) winning the opening novices’ handicap hurdle at the Berkshire track under Aidan Coleman, the hat-trick took Longsdon up to 40 winners for the season.

The prize-money haul saw him rocket to second place in the British Jump Trainers’ title race behind John Ferguson.

Pendra (11-2 favourite) has always been held in high regard by Longsdon.

The seven-year-old finally rewarded his faith by galloping home under Barry Geraghty to capture the £56,950 first prize in Ascot’s Grade 3 three-mile feature.

The trainer said: “It is nice to win a big prize with him. It is long overdue, but I said to Barry beforehand I will be gutted if this horse can’t win a big handicap at some stage soon.

“He was wrong all last year. To be fair he only ran twice last year. He had a wind operation. He had been sick at the beginning of the season, but he is fresh and well and the horses are going well in the yard as well.”

Meanwhile, up in west Yorkshire, Kilcooley (5-1) ran his rivals ragged with Richard Johnson on board to land his second Grade 2 success with a 13-lengths verdict over Rock On Ruby.

Longsdon said: “He is just relentless and just gallops and gallops and it was a really good performance, especially with the weight.

“He is going to have to look at the World Hurdle route now.

“That was the whole plan to see if he was good enough and now we will have to see.”

Longsdon’s big day ended on a sad note, though, when Boogie In The Barn was fatally injured in a fall in the last race at Wetherby.

Earlier in the week, the Chipping Norton trainer and Johnson had teamed up to strike with Coologue in a Bangor-on-Dee novices’ chase and with Ballydine, the impressive winner of a maiden hurdle at Stratford.