Haiti Couleurs enjoyed the perfect tune-up for a potential tilt at the Betfair Chase when making a winning reappearance in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle at Newbury.
Rebecca Curtis' Cheltenham Festival and Irish Grand National hero was sent off at 17-2 in the hands of Sean Bowen for his return over the smaller obstacles and his stamina came to the fore in the closing stages, as the champion jockey outbattled his brother James Bowen aboard runner-up Bill Baxter.
Britain's shortest-priced contender for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Haiti Couleurs holds an entry for the Coral Gold Cup back at Newbury on November 29, but Curtis is tempted to divert to Haydock a week earlier with her star chaser.
Curtis told SportNews Racing: "I'm not overly surprised he won as I knew he was really well and had improved from last year.
"I hoped he would run one of those races where you finish in the first five, but watching him go round I knew he was going to win because of the way he was travelling and you know he stays.
"He ran off hurdles off 135 last year and was beaten, but he's won off 10lb higher here, so it looks like he has improved."
On what comes next, she added: "There's pros and cons to both races, our main aim was the Coral Gold Cup but it's good to firm here today on the chase track and looking at the forecast they are not due too much rain here next week.
"He'll go into that off top-weight probably and Dan's (Skelton, Protektorat and Grey Dawning) rated higher won't run.
"The Betfair Chase is really tempting, I know it's only two and a half weeks away but he's the type of horse you can get away with doing that with and he will be fresh on Monday morning.
"I will chat to the owners and decide what they want to do, but I would be siding that way now. You would hope he might be a Gold Cup horse, but I'm not going to push him down that road if he's not to that level.
"I love the way he has improved and you have seen how tough he is and he stays so well. He can go a good gallop and those are all the things you need for a Gold Cup, so we will see, it's exciting."
