VAN ON FESTIVAL ROUTE

THE Champion Chase is “still the plan” for Douvan despite his no-show at Gowran Park today.

Willie Mullins’ superstar — out of action since his defeat at 2-9 in the Cheltenham Festival’s Wednesday feature last March — was a surprise entry for the Red Mills Chase, but his name was yesterday absent from the five declarations for the Grade 2 contest.

However, Ireland’s champion trainer still hopes the Rich Ricci-owned eightyear-old, a 7-2 chance in Betfair’s antepost book, will make a muchanticipated clash with Altior in the Champion Chase on March 14. “On reflection, we decided running Douvan on heavy ground would not be the right thing to do on his first start of the season,” said Mullins (left). “But the Champion Chase is still the plan and we’ve our fingers crossed everything goes smoothly over the next three and a bit weeks.”