Uxizandre, ridden by Tony McCoy, led from start to finish to win the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival today.

McCoy, who is making his final appearance at the event, made all of the running on the 16/1 shot, but it seemed unlikely that the horse would be able to maintain a relentless pace.

However, as the chasing pack tussled between each other, the 19-time champion jockey continued to push hard on the Alan King-trained horse to seal the triumph by five lengths.

Ma Filleule came home in second after holding off the challenge of favourite Don Cossack, who finished strongly after a poor jump in the run-in.