Appreciate It lived up to his pre-race billing as he powered to victory in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on Tuesday.

The 8/11 favourite, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend, outclassed his seven rivals with a dominant display in the Festival curtain-raiser.

It was the start the Irish hoped for with Appreciate It coming home 24 lengths clear of the opposition to give Mullins a seventh success in the race.

I’m probably the last person to ask where we’ll be going next season!

As expected, For Pleasure set the pace, but Appreciate It was always nicely in his slipstream. Townend made his move at the third-last, with the seven-year-old taking over from the penultimate obstacle.

From then on, Appreciate It pulled easily clear. His stablemate Blue Lord was his nearest pursuer when he came down at the last. That left Henry de Bromhead’s Ballyadam to claim second place, having made a mistake when hitting the second-last flight.

For Pleasure stuck to his task admirably to claim third place, two and a quarter lengths further away.

Mullins said: “It’s a great start to the meeting. I couldn’t believe that he won so easy. Things were looking a bit tough rounding the last bend in Leopardstown (last month) and we were wondering whether he’d left his best performance of the year there (at Christmas), so we just brought home and freshened him up and it seems to have worked.

“The way he finished the race today he looks as good as any of our previous winners of the race – it was a Vautour-like performance.”

On future plans, he added: “At the start of the season I had him down as a Ballymore horse or an Albert Bartlett horse if that failed, so here I am after winning three Grade 1s over two miles with him – I’m probably the last person to ask where we’ll be going next season!

“I thought he could possibly be an Arkle horse. I never envisaged him as a Champion Hurdle horse and I think we’ll just leave that (decision) until after we go to Punchestown.

“I’ve always had chasing in mind for him, but then I always had chasing in mind for Faugheen, so we’re back to the same argument.

“I’ll have a word with Michael Masterson (owner) and the team at home.”

Winning rider Paul Townend, partnering his 16th Festival winner, said: “He was obviously very impressive there. Conditions came in his favour, and it was a huge performance. We were able to get a lead off the lad in front [For Pleasure], but my lad is pretty simple to ride, in that he can make his own pace if he has to - he did in Leopardstown last time, and it’s ideal to have a horse like that, as simple as he is, for the first race.

The way he jumps makes him look like a quicker horse than he is, as well.

“He’s franked his form from the bumper here last year. We knew he was very good, and he’s beaten all the Irish ones at home, so I was quietly confident, if everything was going right.

“Definitely he’s showed more pace than we thought he would. He won a bumper over two and half miles, so we knew he stayed, and the way he jumps makes him look like a quicker horse than he is, as well.”

Trainer Henry de Bromhead was very satisfied with the performance of runner-up Ballyadam.

He said: “We were delighted with the run. A mistake at the second last cost him a bit of ground and momentum, but other than that he ran well. He finished well, and just that mistake took a bit of momentum sadly.

“We’re looking forward to the future now and he was really good today. We’ve not thought about future plans just yet, we’ll speak to Cheveley Park Stud and go from there. We were just concentrating on getting to today and I’m really happy with the run.”

A further half-length away in third was 40/1 chance For Pleasure.

His trainer Alex Hales said: “That was lovely. You could count the runners I’ve had here in 20 years on the fingers of one hand and it’s the first time we’ve been placed. I’m just delighted and there should be more to come over fences. He’s not the biggest, but he seems to jump very well and I think that’s what keeps him in it. We’ll go on to Aintree hopefully next and then see where we are.”

Jockey Harry Bannister added: “He’s got his own way of doing it, but if I’d said at the start of the season that he’d be third in the Supreme you would have laughed. He was running in August off 107 and Alex (Hales) and Simon Gilmore, who rides him every day, have done a fantastic job.

“Now he’s not so bad, as I’ve got to know him and got in his head a bit, but he used to take you on for the sake of taking you on. He jumps and travels, and he could be very exciting over fences next season.”