SIMONSIG justified 8/15 favouritism to win the Racing Post Arkle Chase to give a first winner of the week to The Festival's most successful trainer Nicky Henderson for Scottish owner Ronnie Bartlett.

Last year's Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle winner was not always fluent at his fences and Henderson felt that further chasing experience would benefit the grey.

"It was not quite the performance we expected but Simonsig was just too fresh and he has done very well to win. He was running with the choke out the whole way and even over the first three fences they were going quick, but he wanted to go even quicker.

"He was just doing too much early on because we knew that Overturn was going to set a big gallop," said Henderson, enjoying his 47th Festival success.

"We have always said he is not short of pace but he needs to learn to drop the bridle a bit. He made one bad mistake and was going a bit too quick for his own good. He possibly needs to show a little more respect (to the fences) sometime.

"There is another race in him this year – he could go to Aintree – as he has only had three starts and not been out since Christmas.

"He looks a two-miler through and through and you can't see him go two and a half with that style of racing, even though he won over that distance over hurdles. He will learn to drop the bridle but he has got to. He did well to get up the hill when pulling that hard."

Simonsig won by two and a quarter lengths, and there was another 13 lengths back to third placed His Excellency.

Bartlett, a potato merchant from Airdrie whose company sponsors the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, which is held at The Festival on Friday, said: "He's a dream come true. When you buy any young horse you don't know whether they are going to deliver, but he's just improved year on year.

"We've been coming to The Festival since the early 1980s and it's a great place. It has an association with agriculture and that's my business, so I'm delighted to be a sponsor."