2010 Champion Hurdle hero Binocular made light work of his rivals in the Contenders Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday.

Nicky Henderson’s 1/10 shot cruised home under the hands of Tony McCoy as he prepares to defend his title at the 2011 Cheltenham Festival.

The bookies reacted to some lacklustre jumping in the race by easing his odds for next month’s big race but McCoy was happy with the way the race unfolded: "He was probably not as impressive today as at Kempton (Christmas Hurdle) but it's hard to judge in a race like this.

"I don't think he jumped as well as he can today, but with just three other horses you are being careful in case one falls or something like that.

"He was more impressive at Kempton, but you can't go on what he did here in a race like this. He seems in good form, he's progressing and hopefully we will get him there the same as last year."

Meanwhile, owner JP McManus’ racing manager Frank Berry explained: "The run will bring him on and hopefully he will go to Cheltenham in good shape.

"He's not a great work horse at home and he loves jumping, so it was important to get him out and get this race into him. He got a little wound up before the race when we were saddling him, but AP knows him well and he is happy.

"AP said he jumped a little bit left going down the back but it looks like he is going there in good shape."

Leading bookmaker Sky Bet were not totally impressed by Binocular’s victory and Matt Doyle was on hand to comment:"We have been here before with Binocular who came back to his best at Cheltenham in the spring but we were a little underwhelmed by today's performance and have eased him out slightly in our Champion Hurdle betting."