AP McCoy impressed but 'not sure where some of those quotes come from' after Jeriko Du Reponet hardens as Supreme favourite

Jeriko Du Reponet, favourite in places for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle, showed why that is the case when winning the introductory hurdle.

Trained by Nicky Henderson for JP McManus, the four-year-old landed a point-to-point in the spring before striking at Newbury on his yard debut this month. His odds for the Supreme ranged from 5-1 to 7-1 on Saturday morning, but Unibet were as short as 7-2 after he impressed in the hands of James Bowen.

The rider was deputising for Henderson's main jockey Nico de Boinville, who suffered a collarbone injury at Doncaster on Friday, and made no mistake on the Choeur Du Nord gelding.

Sent off a 2-5 chance, Jeriko Du Reponet, after a delay when no jockeys appeared happy to go on, tracked Officer Of State and moved powerfully through the race.

He ran out a comfortable winner from 5-1 shot Secret Squirrel, while Paradias was third at 15-2. Paddy Power and Betfair left the winner at 6-1 for the Supreme, but Coral, which sponsored the introductory hurdle, went 5-1 (from 7).

Expert jury:

• Who caught your eye at Newbury for the big spring novice hurdles? Our experts give their view

Either way, Bowen was impressed and said: "No-one wanted to pop out at the start and I was trying to be a bit stubborn and thankfully Gary Moore's horse [Officer Of State] went forward and we got a nice lead. We crawled around and, after the last, he put the race to bed - he was good.

"He's obviously very smart. We don't know what he's beaten, but he's done it as well as he could. I wouldn't like to say about his trip but today he felt speedy enough and he was fine on that ground."

James Bowen chats with McCoy after Jeriko Du Reponet's victoryCredit: Edward Whitaker

Legendary 20-time champion jockey Tony McCoy is involved in the McManus fold and was on hand to watch the youngster shine.

McCoy said: "He looked good. I'm glad he did it like that and you'd be glad you had him. I don't know what the plan is and I'm not sure where some of those Supreme quotes come from, but he's a nice horse to have. He did it really nicely and I thought James gave him a really good, confident ride; he rode him like a good horse.

"He jumps and seemed to travel and do everything right. He's a good mind and you'd enjoy watching him doing that. James was confident on him, so he must have been giving him a nice feel."

Asked if another run was possible before the festival, McCoy added: "I'd say so because the experience probably wouldn't do him any harm and he had as easy a race as he could have had on that ground today. He has a good way about him and Nicky has always liked him, so hopefully that 7-2 for the Supreme is right!"

The Lambourn-based Henderson has won the Supreme five times, most notably with stable star Constitution Hill in 2022.

Supreme Novices' Hurdle (March 12)

bet365: 4 Jeriko Du Reponet, 10 A Dream To Share, Its For Me, 11 Firefox, 12 Caldwell Potter, Ballyburn, 16 Jango Baie, Dysart Enos, 20 bar

Read these next:

Courageous Captain Teague 'will keep improving' after providing Paul Nicholls with record-extending sixth Challow success 

Who caught your eye at Newbury for the big spring novice hurdles? Our experts give their view 

'It's a tough job, but wonderful too' - former Nicky Henderson assistant and Altior man Toby Lawes savours big-race glory 

Do you want £800+ of free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.