TRAINER David Bridgwater is hoping that lightning strikes in the same place twice at Newcastle this afternoon.

Twelve months ago, Wyck Hill won the Betfred Eider Chase for Bridgwater, who brings him back today to bid for a notable double in this famous £70,000 marathon event.

Run over an extended four miles, more than two circuits of the Newcastle track, Wyck Hill proved last year that staying is his game.

He has been readied for this afternoon’s race with one run at Chepstow three weeks ago which resulted in a creditable runner-up effort.

Owned by JP McManus, Wyck Hill is 7lb higher now than he was when notching a famous Tyneside triumph in 2014.

The extra weight may not be a barrier to him completing an outstanding double with Tom Cannon in the saddle.

North Yorkshire trainer Malcolm Jefferson has had a tough time of things this winter with winners thin on the ground. But he has two good chances with Oscar Rock and Double W’s, both mounts of Brian Hughes.

Oscar Rock, a talented bumper horse and hurdler before losing his form in the second half of last season, performed respectably to chase home Wakanda on his first run over fences at Kelso. He gets the opportunity to fulfil that promise in the Betfred Handicap Chase.

Jefferson saddles Double W’s in the Betfred TV Bumper National Hunt Flat Race.

A winner at Ayr on his second start, the Norton gelding was unlucky not to follow up at Musselburgh last time, failing by only a nose after persistently hanging to his left along the back straight and making life difficult for himself and his jockey.

He is racing anti-clockwise this time, which should suit him.

Wakanda (1.50), conqueror of Oscar Rock at Kelso and a subsequent Grade 2 winner at Haydock, and the promising Delta Forty (4.05) are two others to note at the Gosforth Park venue.

At Kempton, Paul Nicholls can maintain his incredible Saturday strike-rate in big races by completing a double with All Yours and nap selection Irish Saint, both mounts of Sam Twiston-Davies.

All Yours ran out a fluent winner at Taunton on his latest start and although he faces much deeper opposition in the BetBright Adonis Juvenile Hurdle, this talented four-year-old is fancied to come up trumps.

Irish Saint, who also bids for Grade 2 glory in the Betbright Pendil Novices’ Chase, promises to be hard to beat.

He has won two of his four chases this season but, moreover, he has been placed in Grade 1 contests in his two defeats. The six-year-old has the added advantage of being a previous course winner.

The £100,000 Grade 3 BetBright Handicap Chase offers Venetia Williams a good opportunity to hit the jackpot. The trainer is doubly represented by Renard and Tenor Nivernais, both of whom boast solid chances, Preference is for Tenor Nivernais, a previous winner on this course and, perhaps significantly, the chosen mount of stable jockey Aidan Coleman.

Also worth noting at Kempton is Brian Ellison’s The Grey Taylor.

Twice a winner and twice runner-up in four outings this season over hurdles, the strong galloping gelding is fancied to take plenty of catching in the Grade 2 Sky Bet Dovecoat Novices’ Hurdle.

Success in this useful race, especially conceding weight all round, will earn The Grey Taylor a ticket to next month’s Cheltenham Festival for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Richard Johnson has the mount.

Newcastle today: 1.50 Wakanda, 2.20 Midnight Game, 2.55 Wyck Hill, 3.30 Uisge Beatha, 4.05 Delta Forty, 4.40 Oscar Rock, 5.10 Double W’s.

Kempton today: 1.25 Quito Du Tresor, 2.00 All Yours, 2.35 Irish Saint (NAP), 3.10 The Grey Taylor, 3.45 Tenor Nivernais, 4.20 Shammick Boy, 4.55 Ghost River.

Today’s other meetings: Chepstow and Lingfield.