AS thoughts in the National Hunt world turn towards the forthcoming Grand National at Aintree, conditional jockey Gerald Tumelty will always have a spot in his heart for Hereford racecourse after scoring his first career double at last week's meeting.

The double was initiated when Tumelty, attached to trainer Alan King's yard, scored on Karoo in the Novices' Handicap Chase.

Karoo, who had been bitten by a snake and fell seriously ill last year, went to the front of the field at the fourth last fence and, with Tumelty overcoming his mount's habit of jumping to the left, they scored by four lengths from runner-up Major Blade.

The double was completed aboard trainer Donald McCain jnr's Hello It's Me in the Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle as the partnership kept on determinedly to score by a length and a half from Notaproblem.

Tumelty commented: "It's brilliant to get my first ever double on the board and that makes 16 wins this season and 35 career wins in all so things are going well."

Fourteen-year-old Galway from the Bromsash yard of Marilyn Scudamore may not be the force of old but in the hands of Jeremy Mahot he still had too much ammunition for the other runners in the two-mile three-furlong Hunters' Chase.

The pairing recorded an easy six-lengths win from Viscount Bankes with Made in France a further five lengths back in third place.