Douvan dismissed his rivals with ease to continue his remarkable unbeaten run and further tighten his grip on the 2m chase division with a first open Grade 1 success in the Paddy Power Cashcard Chase.

Displaying his magnificent jumping, Douvan moved up to pass the long-time leader Alisier D'Irlande as the field made their way to the turn for home.

Douvan's four rivals were all hard at it by that stage and the Champion Chase favourite gave them no sniff of an upset as he cruised away on the bridle to land odds of 1-8. It was Sizing John, a 10-1 shot, who chased him home in second.

Mullins said: "For a steeplechaser, he's the best we've had. He's possibly the best horse or steeplechaser we've had. I mean, Hurricane Fly it's hard to see having one better than him. But he never jumped a fence.

"This fella [Douvan], I'm hoping he'll do more over fences than anything we've ever had."

This is win number 13 in a row for Douvan, who now looks to continue his fine form into the 2017 season.