CHELTENHAM, England,  (Reuters) – Big Buck’s, ridden  by Ruby Walsh for champion trainer Paul Nicholls, retained his  World Hurdle crown with effortless ease at the Cheltenham  Festival yesterday.

Walsh enjoyed an armchair ride for much of the three-mile  race, sitting still on the seven-year-old until after the final  fence when the 5-6 favourite bounded up the hill to win by 3 1/4  lengths.

Time For Rupert (16-1) was second and Powerstation (33-1)  third.

“He’s a horse that wouldn’t want to be in front too long. He  has a terrific engine and it was a good round of jumping,” Walsh  told Channel Four television.

Victory made up for disappointment for Nicholls, the leading  trainer at the festival for the last four years, on Wednesday  when heavy favourite Master Minded was well beaten in the Queen  Mother Champion Chase.

“I can sleep a lot better now after Big Buck’s won,” said  Nicholls, who saddles hot favourite Kauto Star and second  favourite Denman in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday, the final  day of the festival.

“He worked very moderately on Saturday — but that’s just  his character. He’s a bit quirky, a bit of a boy. You don’t mind  training those sort of horses but they give you a few sleepless  nights because you start having doubts.

“You have to get into his head a little bit but there is  something very very special about him. I felt today there might  be a few things against him but I don’t know why I was worrying  — he never hit a flat spot.”