• Bellvano victory in last race seals memorable week
• Paul Carberry excels with brilliant waiting ride

It surprised no one that Nicky Henderson trained the winner of the final race at the Cheltenham Festival, bringing to a close what has surely been the most successful week of his career. Bellvano’s victory in the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual, named after the trainer’s late father, was a seventh of the meeting for Henderson, two more than the previous record for a trainer at the Festival, which was held by Paul Nicholls.

It is the third Festival training record that Henderson has broken this week. His four winners on Wednesday was an unprecedented haul for a single day at the meeting, while his career total of 46 Festival wins is six clear of the previous best, set by Fulke Walwyn.

Asked to reflect on his week’s work, Henderson said: “You know we work 365 days, we’ll start planning again on Sunday. It does come down to four days and when it goes like this, you’ve got to make the most of it because everybody knows what’s around the corner.”

Bellvano was giving a ride of great poise and confidence by Paul Carberry, who seemed to have too much ground to make up even as he turned for home, yet remained motionless. While impressed, Henderson would not accept it as a candidate for best ride of the week.

“Nothing will beat the ride Barry [Geraghty] gave Riverside Theatre, it wouldn’t be possible,” he said, referring to the winning ride in the Ryanair Chase. “That was just outstanding. It’s been an amazing week and it’s finished with an emotional day.”

Paul Nicholls had much less reason to celebrate as his dozen runners on Friday failed to make the winner’s enclosure. By the end of the Festival, it was widely accepted that something had affected the general health of his string, though it did not stop Big Buck’s from landing a fourth World Hurdle, while Rock On Ruby, trained from a satellite yard, gave him a first Champion Hurdle success.

“We’re going to parade both those horses [Big Buck's and Rock On Ruby] through Ditcheat tomorrow because they’re two wonderful horses,” Nicholls said. “Other than that, it’s been a bit of a topsy-turvy week.

“But at the end of the day, I did warn everyone a month ago that I had a little bit of a problem with the coughing. We always try and be up front and we knew we were going to struggle a bit.

“Some have run really well and somethings just haven’t gone to plan. What A Friend falling [in the Gold Cup], it’s just been one of them weeks, but listen, if you won the Champion Hurdle every year, you’d take that. We’ll get them fit and fresh for Aintree.”

Nicholls and Henderson end the week neck and neck in the trainers’ title race, which is decided by prize money. The issue is likely to be determined by their relative performances at the Grand National meeting.

There were three winners for trainers based in the north of England or Scotland on the Festival’s final day, taking the tally for such trainers to six this week. Arguably the most significant was Brindisi Breeze’s astonishing performance in making almost all the running to win the three-mile Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle for Fife-based Lucinda Russell, the first Scottish Festival winner since Len Lungo’s Freetown in 2002.

The hot favourite for the race was the Irish-trained Boston Bob, who was restrained well behind what seemed a strong pace and cruised up to challenge under Ruby Walsh in the home straight, yet was unable to get past. A delighted Russell, achieving her first Festival win, ran across the paddock as Brindisi Breeze crossed the line to hug her partner, the former champion jockey Peter Scudamore, who was broadcasting for BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It means everything,” she said. “Oh dear, I didn’t wear the waterproof mascara. Good old Scotland, we’ve been trying really hard to get winners here at the Cheltenham Festival. I’m just delighted. It’s what you work for all winter.

“I’m so proud of this horse, he’s tough as anything, he kept galloping. He’s pretty slow up the gallops at home, we have to let him go in front and say to everyone, don’t pass him. He doesn’t like horses going past him.”

Russell, who has 62 horses in training and room for more, was asked if there were particular difficulties with being based in Scotland, in terms of winning major races in the south. “The only difficulty is that you tend to start longer odds when you come down south because nobody seems to take the form up north very seriously. But that’s changing.” She added that Brindisi Breeze would “make a better chaser” next season.

Malcolm Jefferson had to wait 17 years between his second Festival success and this third, here on Thursday, but added the fourth just one day later when Attaglance finished strongly to beat Toner D’Oudairies. “If I have to wait another 17 years, I don’t think I’ll be here,” the 65-year-old said.

The Triumph Hurdle was won by the 33-1 shot Countrywide Flame, trained by John Quinn, who, like Jefferson, is based in North Yorkshire. “This is a great boost for the yard. We’ve had a bit of a rough time lately,” he said, referring to the fatal injury sustained at Southwell this week by one of his best horses, Palawi.

Of Countrywide Flame, Quinn said: “He was well over-priced, as he’s not run a bad race this season. He’s won a Listed race and been placed in a Grade One but I did think he had a bit to find. He’s very tough and hardy and stuck at it really well but he’s not very big and he got buffetted about a bit through the race. Dougie [Costello, the jockey] gave him a great ride and got him back into the race.”

Costello, having his first Festival win, was ending a dreadful run of 66 consecutive losers. He reported that one trainer had recently booked him “because you’re on the cold list, like me”.

There were two Irish-trained winners on the Festival’s final day, taking the total for the week to five, the lowest total since 2007 and eight fewer than last year. Four of the successful raiders were trained by members of the Mullins family, Tom landing the County Hurdle with Alderwood to add to the three winners earlier in the week from the stable of his brother, Willie.

“He’s been working very well in the past three weeks,” Mullins said, “and everything was right for him. That’s my first winner and I hope it’s not the last. It’s great to do it and match Tony [another brother] and Willie and my father and my first cousin, Seamus, in having winners at the Festival. I’ve been feeling left out.”

When it was pointed out that all the Irish winners to that point had been Mullins-trained, he replied: “I hope the Irish have more winners than the Mullinses.”

That came to pass when Salsify held off Chapoturgeon in the Foxhunter Chase for Cork-based Rodger Sweeney, ridden by the trainer’s son, Colman. The jockey had shed two stones since November to make the necessary weight.

As on Day Three of the Festival, there were no serious equine injuries to add to the five fatalities through the first two days and nor were there any major problems for the jockeys, though Robert Kirk went to hospital with a suspected neck injury. He was able to walk back to the weighing room.

The final-day crowd was 70,458, a new record for the Festival, and took the total for the four days to 236,730, another record.