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Douvan among Champion Novice six

DouvanDouvan
© Photo Healy Racing

Douvan will look to get another huge week at the Punchestown Festival for Willie Mullins off to a flyer in the Herald Champion Novice Hurdle on Tuesday.

The stunning Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner faces just five rivals in the first Grade One event of the week and is a long odds-on favourite to maintain his unbeaten record for Mullins.

"Douvan was very impressive in Cheltenham and has been impressing me at home all season," the County Carlow handler told TG4.

"His pedigree would suggest we could go out to two and a half miles if we wanted, but the two-mile novice is his target."

Expected to put up most resistance is Henry de Bromhead's Sizing John.

The five-year-old provided rising star Johnny Burke with the first Grade One success of his career at Leopardstown's Christmas meeting before finishing seven lengths behind Douvan in the Supreme.

"When he won the Future Champions he was only my second ride in a Grade One and that is where you want to be as a jockey, riding in the Grade Ones," Burke told At The Races.

"That day everything was great. When I started in the job (as retained jockey for Alan and Ann Potts) he was one of the big hopes for the year for Henry and Alan and he won well.

"It was a great feeling."

Blair Perrone, Rich Coast, Cardinal Palace and Velocity Boy complete the line-up.