Protektorat soared over the Windsor fences to record a brilliant a victory in the Fitzdares Fleur De Lys Chase on Sunday for trainer Dan Skelton (pictured) and jockey Harry Skelton.

Dan Skelton's 10-year-old was second to L'Homme Presse in this race last year when it was held at Lingfield, after which he had a highly successful spring when winning the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and finishing third in the Melling Chase at Aintree.

He was second in the Peterborough Chase on his last outing and was sent on his way at 100/30 this time, with his Huntingdon conqueror Djelo the well-backed 5/4 favourite.

Protektorat blazed a trail throughout the two-mile six-furlong event - worth over £85,000 to the winner - and put plenty of daylight between himself and his rivals.

At the business end there was no chance of reeling him back in and he sauntered across the line 23 lengths ahead of his old foe Djelo.

The Henry de Bromhead-trained Journey With Me (11/2, Rachael Blackmore) was another 21 lengths back in third spot.

Winning rider Harry Skelton said: "I haven't ridden many with the constitution and toughness of him. He went a two-mile gallop, it's unbelievable. He's so tough and so brave, he's the maddest horse I've ever ridden. He is crazy, he'll come out tomorrow and want to go five times around the gallop."

"That's what makes him so good, that will to keep up, he's relentless and we're so lucky to have a horse like him.

"He gets beaten and then he just comes back, we've had some massive days with him."

He added: "It's a massive day for the horse, he always puts his hat in the ring and he's a heavyweight. We'll go now to the Ryanair, but we're not naive enough to think this wasn't a big day for him.

The trainer added: "Everything was just perfect today, we're delighted with him.

"This and the Ryanair were his two big targets for the year, it's going to be hard to retain his title because the clock has ticked past 10 years old. He's not getting any younger, but he'll make them run, he'll make them work for it."

Protektorat is co-owned by John Hales and his daughter Lisa, together with Sir Alex Ferguson and Ged Mason.

An emotional Hales said: "He's a brilliant horse, that was a wonderful exhibition.

"When they started I thought 'what the hell is he doing going 20 lengths ahead at the start like that?', but it was all well thought out.

"That was a brilliant performance. He's right up there in the top three (of horses he has owned) - One Man, Neptune (Collonges) and then this one.

"When you get a horse like this that's so genuine, it was a fabulous performance."

"Made for Cheltenham"

There are bigger things in store for Jubilee Alpha after winning the Fitzdares Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle on the same card.

Paul Nicholls’ six-year-old came into the race carrying a penalty after a Listed win last time out and was ridden by Harry Cobden as the 8/13 favourite.

The soft ground was perhaps not to her liking but she was still able to come to the fore, securing a length-and-a-quarter victory from Emma Lavelle’s Bluey to bring the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival into the picture.

“She wouldn’t be in love with that ground, I thought it was a good performance in the end,” Cobden said.

“She had a hefty penalty for winning that listed race at Taunton, I loved the way she went through the race and Paul was convinced he can have her a lot better as he only had three weeks to get here today.

“That race at Cheltenham is probably made for her, isn’t it?”

Nicholls told Sky Sports Racing: “She’s straightforward, she jumps and she travels and she stays on.

“There’s no reason to be negative riding her, if they go fast then the faster the better. She should stay on very strongly up the hill (at Cheltenham) which will suit her nicely.

“I know I can get her better for Cheltenham than today because we’ve only had three weeks from Taunton and we’ve got plenty of time to get her really right for the big day.”

Chaser on the up

The opening race, the three-runner Hampton Novices' Chase, saw Jingko Blue take the next step in his promising career with a neat victory.

Nicky Henderson’s six-year-old was a wide-margin winner on his debut over fences at Uttoxeter in December and faced only two rivals at Grade 2 level this time.

He was the 4/9 favourite under Nico de Boinville, who gave him a patient ride as he stalked leader Lowry’s Bar for much of the three-mile trip.

Jingko Blue’s jumping was a slight mixed bag, but as he was looming up alongside Lowry’s Bar in the closing stages a bad mistake by the latter left his path clear.

He strode on to a two-and-a-quarter-length victory to remain unbeaten over fences, with Lowry’s Bar staying on for a creditable second, with Johnnywho a long way back in third.

Henderson told Sky Sports Racing: “That significant error (by Lowry’s Bar) changed the complexion of the race very quickly, but everything was going well.

“I thought he jumped well, it’s hard work ground. They were really getting into this ground on Friday and I wouldn’t have thought it was the easiest to jump out of.

“He can be a bit more flamboyant than that but at that gallop in this ground, that was probably the best way of going about it.

“They set a sensible pace, but he (De Boinville) did say that going faster on some better ground he will be a more flamboyant jumper.

“I’m pretty sure three miles is his game.”

De Boinville added: “He’s a nice horse and he’s progressing the right way.

“It’s not easy to jump out of that ground, but he’s done it well in the end. The quicker he went, the better he was, we went fairly steady.

“It’s tricky to jump round here, those fences are trappy and it’s hard to get into a rhythm. I had plenty of horse.”