Prime cut above his rivals and on the trail for £60,000 bonus

Optimus Prime added his name to an illustrious list of qualifiers in the history of the course's Cheltenham Festival bonus scheme with one of the most assured rounds of jumping seen at the track.

Last year Top Notch and Baron Alco narrowly missed out on the £60,000 bonus when finishing second at the festival, with another qualifier in the five-race series, Theinval, third in the Grand Annual.

Voy Por Ustedes, the 2006 Arkle winner, is still the only winner of the bonus but the broad grins of winning connections said it all about Optimus Prime, who confirmed the promise of his British debut win over fences.