Moulin Riche jumps ahead at the last (Getty Images).

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Moulin Riche won the first running of the Brit Insurance Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham on Friday to leave his trainer Francois Doumen dreaming of a possible sixth victory in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day.

The French challenger was given a very patient ride by Robert Thornton in a race run at a good pace set by Gaelic Music and Brewster, the 9-4 favourite.

Moulin Riche (9-1) moved smoothly up to challenge on the outside three from home and took over approaching the final flight. Seeing the three miles out well, he drew two and a half lengths clear of Over The Creek (5-1), with Brewster a neck back in third.

Doumen was saddling his second winner at this year's Festival following Kelami's success on Tuesday.

He said: "I find it so hard to win here, but to win two I feel very spoilt. It's two wins, a second and a fourth with five runners, so I can't complain.

"A winner on the first day and last day - we couldn't be right in the middle - it's a dream.

"It has been a fabulous week, but there is always the shadow of Baracouda's defeat, otherwise I would be 200 per cent satisfied."

Of Moulin Riche, he said: "He was cruising at halfway and this kid rides him very well. "Last year he won a couple of very good steeplechases in France at four and he ended up having too much weight meeting older horses, so I switched him back to hurdles.

"He has always been a good horse and a promising horse, he just needed three miles and up to now I couldn't find three miles in England. He definitely needed that trip.

"He did show in France that he is a good horse, so it was no big surprise.

"He may go to Aintree and then he'll go back to France for a rest, and then go back chasing in the autumn."

When asked if Moulin Riche could be a King George horse, he said: "I hadn't really thought about the King George, but he is a typical horse for the King George. He goes on any ground, he's a good jumper and he's got enough experience."

Thornton added: "He was brilliant. He jumped and travelled and gave me an armchair ride."

The jockey had also won on Kelami, and when asked if he was going to team up with Doumen on a regular basis, he said: "It will take a lot to prise me away from Alan King."

Over The Creek's owner David Johnson said: "He ran to the line. I thought he would be swallowed up at the top of the hill but he battled on.

"We won't see him again this season, but what a prospect he is going to be over fences."

Brewster's trainer Ian Williams believed the drying ground had not helped the favourite.

He said: "The horse came again but the ground being as lively as it is just went against him in a competitive race like that.

"If the ground was soft he might go for the three-mile hurdle at Aintree, but not if it was lively going there."