Baron Noir could be a lively outsider for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham next month, according to trainer Alan King.
The six-year-old gelding won two bumpers after joining King's yard from Daniel Murphy last season, including a Punchestown defeat of leading Supreme hope El Cairos, and he has taken well to jumping this term, bagging victories at Uttoxeter and Kempton following a debut second to Cristal d'Estruval at Warwick in November.
Last time out on January 10 Baron Noir skipped to a two and a half-length victory in the Join Coral Bet £10 Get £50 Novices' Hurdle at the Sunbury venue and his trainer is dreaming big with entries in both the Supreme and the Turners Novices' Hurdle at next month's Festival.
King, who has trained 16 winners at the Festival but has shifted his focus more towards the Flat game in recent years, said on the Nick Luck Daily Podcast: "He's in both (races), I would say we'd go Supreme.
"Noel (Fehily, syndicate manager) said leave him in the two and a half but I think it would be the wrong thing to do, stepping him up in trip at Cheltenham.
"He shows me plenty of pace at home. In an ideal world, I would have liked to have got another run into him, but the only possible place to go was probably Exeter. That was off as it turned out and I wouldn't have run him on the heavy ground anyway.
"I think we've only scratched the surface with him, he's certainly an exciting young horse. He's as nice as I've had for some time, so we'll see, I think the Supreme is the plan."
Baron Noir is a 25/1 chance for the Sky Bet Supreme with the big-race sponsors, who offer Non Runner No Bet on the Festival opener.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
More from Sporting Life
- Free bets
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.