Big Buck’s has earned a place in the record books after securing a third consecutive victory in the World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last week.

Heading into the race as the odds-on favourite at 10-11, Big Buck’s made the World Hurdle his own by romping home to victory beneath Ruby Walsh. In doing so, the horse secured three straight wins in the fixture – a Cheltenham record.

Big Buck’s victory was not a formality, however, as Grands Crus (7-2) and Mourad (8-1) pushed hard to spoil the horse’s big day. After keeping the pair in close company, Big Buck’s nudged ahead on the run-in and looked comfortable as he cruised over the finish line in first place.

Speaking after the victory, Walsh said: “He’s an aeroplane but I made a bad mistake as I dropped my stick halfway to the last hurdle. It was my own fault as I was trying to see where the others were behind me so I was only half-watching what I was doing.

“I knew I had loads of horse left but I knew it was going to be tactical and that Grands Crus was going to try to follow me. This horse has matured so much mentally you can stretch him in front and he has dug deep. He’s a wonderful horse and he’s got me out of trouble”.

Big Buck’s’ trainer, Paul Nicholls, added: “We knew pretty well what Grands Crus was going to do. We just improvised a little bit. I was nervous as he hasn’t run on that ground. He wins by staying and class is what he’s got”.