My Tent Or Yours enjoyed a well-deserved day in the sun after claiming victory in a thrilling Unibet International Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Nicky Henderson's 10-year-old has finished runner-up in three renewals of the Champion Hurdle, not to mention in the 2013 Supreme Novices' Hurdle, and was also second to The New One in this Grade Two contest 12 months ago.

He had not managed to get his head in front since landing a National Hunt Flat race at Kempton in February 2014, but proved the fire still burns bright with a heartwarming success under Barry Geraghty.

The jockey said: "He's had some great runs here and that was brilliant.

"He deserved it. He's knocked on the door plenty, but he battled really well against an ultra-tough horse (The New One).

"You never want to take on The New One too early because you know he's going to keep coming.

"It was sweet. It was a good buzz. It was teed up for a big finish - everything was there.

"He pinged the last and he just found that extra gear. It was a great finish and it was as good as horse race as it gets.

"If any horse has deserved a big race at Cheltenham it was him. He definitely deserved it and maybe he can run well in March."

The New One set out to make all the running in his bid to claim this prize for a fourth time, with My Tent Or Yours and the Willie Mullins-trained 7-4 favourite Melon waiting in the wings for much of the two-mile journey.

The big three came down to the final flight together, with The New One sandwiched between My Tent Or Yours on the rail and the strong-travelling Melon on the far side.

They settled down to fight it out and for a horse whose gumption has on occasion been questioned, My Tent Or Yours knuckled down admirably to prevail by a length and a quarter from his old rival.

Melon was a further length away in third.