Douvan© Photo Healy Racing
Willie Mullins insists relief will be his overriding emotion should Douvan justify his prohibitive odds in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase.
Unbeaten in 13 starts since arriving in Ireland, the brilliant seven-year-old is as short as 1-4 to add to his tally in the feature event on day two at Cheltenham.
He is already a dual Festival winner having landed the Supreme Novices' Hurdle and the Arkle Trophy in the last two years and it will go down as one of the biggest shocks in the showpiece fixture's history if he does not complete the hat-trick.
Mullins said: "He's in good form and everything has gone well. At this stage we're just hoping everything goes well on the day.
"When you are going to Cheltenham with a favourite like Douvan, it is relief rather than joy when they win. When you have a 25-1 winner that isn't expected, that is joy. There is fair bit of expectation with Douvan, so you just want to keep him right and get there.
"I only think every morning about keeping him sound."
Perhaps Douvan's biggest asset is his slick jumping, but with his rapid style leaving little margin for error, Mullins admits his heart has skipped a beat more than once during his nine-race chase career to date.
"I don't really watch the replays, but there's a few times he's given me frights and everyone else is saying he jumped fantastic," said Mullins
"Ruby (Walsh) says 'I couldn't see what you saw on the ground when I'm on his back'. He's so in control and he's got the scope to get in close or stand back.
"He seems to have everything. It's rare for a horse of his size to stay so sound. Usually when they're that big, things go wrong."
The Closutton handler has made no secret of the fact he feels the imposing French import could be the best horse he has ever trained, but is wary of crowning him as such just yet, with 22-time Grade One winner Hurricane Fly still the apple of his eye.
He said: "He's won everything we've asked him to win, but he's got to win his championship race.
"I think I've said what I thought about him - that he could be the best that I've ever had - but he's a long way to go to get there. He's certainly got to get past Hurricane Fly, who did what he did. The bar is high for him."
Douvan faces nine rivals, with Special Tiara the only other Irish challenger.
The 10-year-old has finished third in the last two renewals of the race and trainer Henry de Bromhead could not be happier with his stable stalwart's condition ahead of his latest bid for glory.
"He's in mighty form. He's had two runs on ground he would have hated this year and when he got his good ground he won nicely at Kempton," said the Knockeen-based trainer.
"He loves racing and has been third in the Champion Chase the last two years. I still don't know how he wasn't second last year, but he wasn't.
"He's a very good horse in his own right."
Colin Tizzard is double-handed, with Fox Norton joined by stable companion Sizing Granite.
Fox Norton made an excellent debut for the yard in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham in November, but was then sidelined by injury for three months and proved no match for Altior on his comeback run in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury.
The trainer's son and assistant Joe Tizzard said in his Coral blog: "Fox Norton schooled beautifully last Tuesday. He was a bit stiff after Newbury, but he was entitled to be given the injury he'd picked up at Cheltenham the time before.
"If it's still good to soft that should be fine. I think he'll have a better chance the slower the ground, rather than top of the ground.
"He deserves to take his chance in this and is a worthy second-favourite. Take Douvan out and it's a very open race."
Tom George also fires a twin assault and feels both God's Own and Sir Valentino are capable of running into a place at least. God's Own has been off the track since finishing third behind Un De Sceaux in the Tingle Creek at Sandown in December.
George said: "God's Own has had a good preparation and we are coming into his time of year. He had a good first half of the season up until Christmas on ground that was a bit softer than ideal. He put in some good efforts and has had a nice break and is now ready for the Festival.
"We do obviously have a mountain to climb against Douvan, but I think we have the beating of the others.
"It is a tried and tested route and I would rather start him over two than two and a half in the Ryanair on his first run back after a break, as we have to think about Aintree and Punchestown and I don't want to bottom him out.
"His work has been outstanding. It is hard to say if they are improving at the age of nine, but we certainly haven't got to the bottom of him yet."
He added: "Sir Valentino has come a very long way. He has surprised us, but you can't knock what he has done. He merits a place in the line-up.
"Arguably he probably ran as good a race as he ever has when finishing second giving 6lb to Special Tiara and being beaten by half a length at Kempton over Christmas, having made a mistake late on.
"He hasn't run since then, but throughout his career I have given him six- or eight -week breaks here and there.
"He is too high in the weights for handicaps, so this seemed the obvious route to take with the horse."
Top Gamble was third behind Un De Sceaux in January's Clarence House Chase at this venue and trainer Kerry Lee felt it was worth supplementing him for a crack at the two-mile chasing crown.
"I was very happy with Top Gamble on Festival Trials Day. His work since has been great and that has encouraged us to supplement," said the trainer.
"You obviously have to be very respectful of the opposition, in particular a horse like Douvan, but we think we have a fighting chance of playing a part in the race. It looks worth a shot.
"We are always hoping for a bit more rain, but it never seems to fall for the Festival. The ground will be on the easy side and that should suit him."
The Nicky Richards-trained Simply Ned finished third behind Douvan at Christmas and carries the hopes of the north.
"He's been to all the two-mile parties there is and he never lets us down. He always runs a good race and no doubt if all goes well he'll run another good one on Wednesday," Richards told Racing UK.
"We've got a mighty horse to beat in Douvan - he's a fantastic horse.
"Our horse is in great form, anyway, and he's not out of it. He's entitled to go there and we'll see what happens."
The Philip Hobbs-trained Garde La Victoire and Traffic Fluide from Gary Moore's yard complete the 10-strong field.
