Douvan reigns Supreme at Cheltenham

Douvan lived up to the hype to give the Willie Mullins, Ruby Walsh and Rich Ricci triumvirate a third successive victory in the Cheltenham Festival opener, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Following on from the wins of Champagne Fever and Vautour, Douvan was every bit as impressive as either of those two, backing up Mullins’ statement in the build-up to the meeting that he was potentially as good as any horse he had sent over from his Closutton powerbase.

Douvan beat his stablemate Shaneshill by four and a half lengths with Henry de Bromhead’s Sizing John showing up well for a long way before finishing third.