Somersby is taken to give Henrietta Knight her first Cheltenham Festival victory since Best Mate.

The trainer has not visited the winner's enclosure since 2004, when Best Mate secured a third triumph in the Gold Cup.

That long losing streak can end courtesy of the talented, and often misunderstood, Somersby, who runs in the Ryanair Chase.

Knight's eight-year-old has not been without his critics during a career which has often flickered, without really igniting.

Just four victories over fences adds credence to that theory, yet he could hardly be called a rogue given he has only once finished outside the first four in 14 chase starts.

This season had charted a similarly consistent, if slightly frustrating, route, with solid-placed efforts behind Master Minded at Ascot and Gauvain in the Peterborough Chase.

Somersby then looked one-paced stepped up to three miles in the King George, after which Knight decided to take a drop in trip.

Despite some concerns that Ascot's two miles and a furlong might have been on the sharp side, everything went well for Somersby, who brushed aside Finian's Rainbow by a length-and-a-quarter.

What was again striking about that victory was the fluidity in which he was staying on towards the line.

This trait has defined his career, and would suggest the Ryanair's two-mile-five-furlong trip should be ideal.

lThree horses suffered fatal injuries on the opening day of the Festival. Scotsirish, favourite for the cross-country chase, and Garde Champetre were put down, while Educated Evans was killed in the last race on the card.