Djelo scrapped to a tough success in the William Hill Bet10 Get10 On Racing Denman Chase at Newbury.

Venetia Williams’ bay was the 6-4 favourite under Charlie Deutsch in a field of seven for the Grade Two event run over a trip just shy of three miles.

The gelding thrived on the soft going and clearly also enjoyed the extended distance on his first attempt, settled in the early stages by Deutsch before assuming control of the race with two fences to jump.

Djelo got a bit close to the final obstacle but ultimately had plenty in hand and came home three-and-a-half lengths clear of Hitman, who was finishing second in the race for a third successive year.

His Paul Nicholls-trained stablemate Bravemansgame kept on for third, beaten a further six-and-a-half lengths.

Djelo was cut to 12-1 from 20s by bookmakers for the Ryanair Chase at next month’s Cheltenham Festival, with Williams favouring the extended two-and-a-half-mile option over their other entry in the two-mile Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Williams said: “A week ago we were running in the Game Spirit and it was only 15 minutes before entries closed that I took a look what was in the Denman and thought, ‘we need to be in there as well’.

“We’ve got him in the Ryanair and we’ve got him in the Champion Chase but not the Gold Cup and there are no regrets about that at all.

“I would say he would go to the Ryanair now. He’s a King George horse for next season. He’s got better with maturity and it will be straight to Cheltenham now.”

Djelo was able to bounce back from the defeat inflicted by Protektorat in the Fitzdares Fleur De Lys Chase at Windsor last month.

“He’s quite a headstrong horse and you have to be forgiving and I think an element of Windsor was not so much him but Protektorat, because he was brilliant,” added Williams.

“Protektorat was ridden with enormous restraint when we beat him at Huntingdon in the Peterborough Chase and we got well away from him, but the same thing happened the other way round at Windsor, the boot was on the other foot.

“We were scratching our heads over tactics and Peter [Davies, owner] and I left it down to Charlie to make up his mind down at the start.

“We didn’t want him being too keen so he dropped him right out and he settled beautifully, almost to the point that when they turned for home I was wondering when Charlie was going to set him alight. When he did, the turbo came in very quickly.

“We can’t do it without the generous owners and their support and I think that is a milestone for both of us. It’s taken us past £1m for the season and we think it has put Peter into second in the owners’ table.”