THE highlight of the first two days of the National Hunt Festival at Cheltenham as far as Northern racegoers were concerned was the victory of Fiona McStay’s homebred Glens Melody in Tuesday’s OLBG Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1).

True, the Paul Townend-partnered seven-year-old looked booked for second place when her Willie Mullins-trained stable-companion, Annie Power, fell at the final flight. But, the hurdles are there to be jumped and the King’s Theatre bay had to show great resolve to hold off the Barry Geraghty-ridden Polly Peachum by a head.

Warrenpoint-based Fiona and Glens Melody featured in this paper’s Cheltenham magazine last Saturday as did Glenavy-born trainer Neil Mulholland. The latter saddled his first winner at the Festival when Geraghty partnered The Druids Nephew to victory in the earlier Ultima Business Solutions Handicap Chase.

The eight-year-old King’s Theatre gelding, who was bred near Newry by Patrick Collins, is the last recorded foal out of the Shareef Dancer mare Gifted. Dam of three other winners, including the ill-fated Abbot (by Bishop Of Cashel), Gifted was a half-sister to Sergeyevich. The Druids Nephew won a four-year-old maiden at Dromahane in May 2011 when trained by Colin Bowe for Maeve Furlong.

Geraghty was also on board the Nicky Henderson-trained Josses Hill who finished third in the Racing Post Arkle Chase (Grade 1). The seven-year-old Winged Love gelding was bred by Moira veterinary surgeon Ian Moore out of the Glacial Storm mare Credora Storm.

Owned by Rose Boyd and George Creighton and led up as usual by Gail Carlisle, Hurricane Fly also finished third in the Stan James Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) to his Mullins-trained stable-companion Faugheen.

The feature race on Wednesday’s card, the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) went to the Paul Nicholls-trained Dodging Bullets.

The 2008 Dubawi bay was famously bred by Frankie Dettori who sold him as a yearling at Newmarket to Caledon trainer Andy Oliver. After winning three-year-old handicaps at Galway and Sligo in the colours of Richard Pegum, Dodging Bullets was purchased privately by bloodstock agent Tom Malone.

For the second year running, the Mick Channon-trained Somersby filled the runner-up spot in the two-mile chase being ridden on this occasion by south Armagh-born jockey Brian Hughes.