Douvan would appear to be a likely runner in the Betfair Tingle Creek at Sandown on Saturday after Willie Mullins' star chaser was the subject of a major gamble on Tuesday morning.
The six-year-old, who is unbeaten in 11 starts since finishing second on his racecourse debut when trained in France, was a general 7-2 shot for the race overnight but is now as short as 4-7 after usurping Gary Moore’s Ar Mad for favouritism.
Willie Mullins has the option of running either Douvan or Un De Sceaux at the Esher track.
The County Carlow handler indicated on Monday that plans for both runners were fluid.
He told the Irish Times: "Hopefully he (Douvan) will be able to run soon.
"He is entered for both the Tingle Creek and the Hilly Way (Cork, 11 December).
"Un De Sceaux is also in at Sandown so we'll see how things work out this week, but I would imagine Douvan would run in one of the two.
"The other route to go would be the John Durkan (at Punchestown on Sunday week) but we have Djakadam for that.
"If they had different owners they might take each other on.
"But for now at least I think Douvan will stay at two miles."
Moore could run both Ar Mad and stable stalwart Sire De Grugy, who won this race in 2013 and 2015.
The trainer is keen to get a run into Ar Mad as he has been out through injury since February.
"It's 99% Ar Mad will run in the Tingle Creek. He also has an entry in the Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon on Sunday, just in case," Moore told At The Races.
"If they raced on Saturday I honestly think the way Sire de Grugy beat Vaniteux (at Ascot), I think he would beat Ar Mad this week, but there would probably be a different outcome at the end of the season."
Moore's son and stable jockey, Jamie, reports Sire De Grugy to be ticking over nicely since his Ascot victory earlier this month.
"He's training well. He hasn't done much since Ascot, just one canter a day. He did a couple on Monday and seems OK," he said.
Tom George is double-handed with Grade One scorer God's Own and Haldon Gold Cup winner Sir Valentino.
In-form Gordon Elliott can call on The Game Changer, while the Paul Nicholls-trained Vibrato Valtat completes the octet.
