RACING: Champion jump jockey Tony McCoy endured a nightmare start to the New Year at Cheltenham yesterday.

The peerless rider, who is well on his way to an unprecedented 300 winners this season, failed to edge any closer to that milestone target as he drew a blank on the six-race card.

He was forced to settle for second place in photo finishes for both of the first two contests and also suffered the indignity of falling off his mount in a driving finish.

Travelling upsides leader The Last Cast in the Steel Plate Trial Juvenile Novices' Hurdle, McCoy was challenging aboard 4 to 5 favourite Vanormix when his right foot slipped out of the stirrup iron after the final flight.

Suddenly unbalanced, McCoy came tumbling out of the side door leaving The Last Cast to score an easy victory by 17 lengths from Serotonin.

As McCoy returned splattered with mud, winning trainer Charlie Egerton said: "We may have been a bit lucky but I think we would still have won. If it comes up soft then we would have to think about the Triumph Hurdle but I think you will find he is about 10lb below the best."

Sir Frosty entered the reckoning for April's Martell Grand National as he conclusively proved his stamina with a last-gasp success in the Miles Gosling Handicap Chase.

The 15 to 8 favourite looked less than totally enthusiast in the early stages of the marathon four-mile one-furlong contest as Timmy Murphy tried to get him settled.

And things still weren't looking good for his supporters approaching the final fence when Sir Frosty was some eight lengths behind leaders Polar Champ and Wonder Weasel.

But as the front pair started to tire, Murphy conjured a fine late burst out of his mount to grab the McCoy-ridden Polar Champ in the shadow of the winning post and win by a neck.

Racegoers were treated to a thrilling finish for the first race of 2003 at the track, as 5 to 4 chance Joss Naylor edged out odds-on favourite Tarxien.

Coming to the second-last fence in the Ian Williams' Owners Novices' Chase, the two market leaders were neck and neck but a slight mistake by Tarxien and McCoy allowed Joss Naylor and Liam Cooper to gain an all-important advantage.

McCoy asked the favourite for everything on the run-in and nearly regained the advantage, but Joss Naylor held on to win by a short head.

"The SunAlliance is the long-term aim but he'll have another race somewhere first," said winning trainer Jonjo O'Neill.

Ballinclay King returned to peak form with an impressive win in the Unicoin New Homes Chase.

A useful novice chaser two seasons ago, the Ferdy Murphy-trained gelding showed all of his old sparkle as he took the spoils in the £40,000 contest.

McCoy was out of luck again as well-fancied Westender could finish only third behind Flame Creek in the George Stevens Handicap Hurdle.

Noel Chance is hoping that the winner can land a long-range ante-post wager for the Smurfit Champion Hurdle.

"I am on at 66 to 1," beamed Flame Creek's trainer.

Chance is already holding a voucher that represents a bit of value as both William Hill and Victor Chandler cut his charge's price to 33 to 1 for the big race.

McCoy, a self-confessed bad loser, was hoping that his day might improve in the final contest.

But his mount Duchamp was out of the race by the halfway stage when falling and a thoroughly miserable day was completed for the champion.

Instead it was left to ex-Irish gelding Quality First, making his debut for Heather Dalton, to give the stable a first winner at Cheltenham.