It's a clean sweep for Ireland as Joseph O'Brien's Banbridge clinches the finale

Friday: Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, Cheltenham

The Joseph O'Brien-trained Banbridge completed a clean sweep for the Irish on Cheltenham Gold Cup day as he fought gamely to take the concluding Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle under Mark McDonagh.

Banbridge carried the colours of Ronnie Bartlett, whose Stattler landed the National Hunt Chase on Tuesday, and was returned a 12-1 winner.

O'Brien was winning his second Martin Pipe, having sent out Early Doors to land the race in 2019, and even he admitted it had been a long week trying to compete.

Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle: full result and race replay

He said: "Mark gave him a great ride. Obviously, there was plenty of carnage in behind us during the race and we managed to avoid some of the loose horses coming down the hill.

"He's very tough and I'm delighted for Ronnie. He has supported me very well. It's fantastic to get a winner here. It's been a long week.

"The horses have all run well. The filly [Scarlet And Dove] hit the crossbar in the previous race, but it's tough to compete here.

"Ronnie has had a fantastic week. He's a big supporter of lots of people in racing and this is well deserved."

The success of Banbridge meant all seven winners at Cheltenham on Gold Cup day were trained in Ireland, meaning the Irish ended the week 18-10 winners over Britain in the Prestbury Cup.

O'Brien said: "As everyone knows, the racing at home is fiercely competitive day in and day out. It's been a great week for the Irish again."

Team Banbridge: one for the photo album as connections gather round their heroCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

The Martin Pipe was a race high on drama. The favourite Langer Dan was brought down early, and leading fancy Adamantly Chosen managed to finish 11th despite being badly hampered.

McDonagh managed to avoid all of the trouble and described notching his first Cheltenham Festival victory as "class".

The rider said: "There were loose horses coming past me every few seconds and I was thinking, 'Jesus, what's going on behind me?'

"I was lucky that I was away from all the hustle and bustle and it was ideal for the horse. I wasn't confident until about ten strides after the last. I was always conscious something was going to get me but it was unreal. Never experienced anything like this before. Just class."

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