THE keenest fans of the sport of National Hunt regard the first week of October as the true start of the jump racing season.

With the ground softening after the summer sunshine, trainers begin to send out their higherrated horses as race programmes are planned all the way to Cheltenham and Aintree next year.

And many eyes will be on Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse for Totesport Day on Saturday, October 8.

Already, Cheshire-owned Iris's Gift is being lined up for this year's Bright Future Novices' Steeplechase. Owner Robert Lester dreams of his horse being a Cheltenham Gold Cup contender.

It was in this Bangor-on-Dee race in 2004 that the Champion Trainer Martin Pipe's Comply Or Die made a blistering start to his steeplechasing career on the way to being runner-up in the 'Gold Cup' for novices - the Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Chase at the National Hunt Festival.

While that's a race that attracts future stars, there are two even more valuable events on the Bangor-on-Dee racecard that day.

The feature is the £20,000 Totesport Handicap Chase, raced over more than three-and-a-half miles.

An excellent field of runners last year saw the Paul Nicholls-trained Colourful Life emerge as the winner and, later in the season, he took the skybet (former Great Yorkshire) Chase - one of January's jump racing highlights.

The Numark Handicap Hurdle, worth £15,000, is the third major race on a tremendous day for jump racing in North Wales, when the cameras of Channel 4 racing will be at Bangor-on-Dee.

The next racing at Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse is Totesport Day on October 8. Next racing at Chester Racecourse is the 2006 May Festival.