Solzen on top of the world

My Way de Solzen picked up the torch for a new generation of staying hurdlers as he defied fears over the drying ground to land the Ladbrokes World Hurdle on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival.

Giving trainer Alan King and jockey Robert Thornton their second victories of the meeting, the 8-1 chance held the late thrust of Golden Cross and the multi-talented Johnny Murtagh by a head.