Sir Gino could be a British banker at Cheltenham although improvement will still be needed in Triumph

It is not always the most informative of meetings with March in mind, but Saturday's Cheltenham Trials day threw up some significant performances with at least a trio of horses returning figures to make them of real interest for their respective festival targets.

Given the relative paucity of quality in the division to date, pride of place goes to Sir Gino (143+), a hugely impressive winner of the opening Grade 2 JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial.

Rated 127 when making a winning debut for the Nicky Henderson yard at Kempton, he stepped up markedly on that to power clear of the previous division pacesetter Burdett Road (130), who ran well without quite matching the level of his win on the Old course in November.