• Winner had to fight to hold off Captain Guinness• Elliott yet to decide Cheltenham target for victor
Four of the last six winners of the
Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle have started favourite for the Supreme Novice Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival two months later – Vautour and Douvan among them – and the latest renewal highlighted two leading prospects for the spring festivals as Andy Dufresne and Captain Guinness finished 15 lengths clear of their rivals at Punchestown on Sunday.
For Andy Dufresne, the result offered a measure of redemption after the loss of his unbeaten record over hurdles at Navan in mid-December but it was not earned without a struggle.