Baracouda won't be caught

The horse who is set to be the hottest favourite of Cheltenham's first fourday Festival looked blissfully unaware of the pressure on him as he came charging up a forest gallop on a sunlit morning in Chantilly today.

His suave handler Francois Doumen looked a shade less relaxed, but the man who trains Baracouda had a short answer for those who feel the most formidable staying hurdler of all time will prove vulnerable when he bids to land the Ladbrokes World Hurdle for a third time on 17 March.

"Baracouda is so well right now that I wish the Festival was tomorrow," he said.

"He's ageing positively and getting stronger and, whereas last year he had a couple of little things which bothered him, this year he has given me no worries at all."

Baracouda triumphed in the race formerly known as the Stayers' Hurdle in 2002 and 2003 and went down fighting behind Iris's Gift in his bid for a hat-trick last March.

With that rival yet to run this season and Crystal d'Ainay disappointing at Cheltenham last weekend, Ladbrokes have been forced to cut him to even money for a third success, and Doumen has seen little to suggest his stable star will disappoint his followers.

"I won't write a novel about it, but what I saw at Cheltenham on Saturday left me quite comfortable," he added. "Every year it is harder to win at Cheltenham, but this horse has been absolutely striking since we first got him and I have enormous confidence in him."

With Doumen's son Thierry now concentrating on training rather than riding, the spotlight is on AP McCoy to coax the best out of the quirky 10-year-old.