Nicky Henderson’s Might Bite has seen his odds for success at Cheltenham next year slashed after an impressive seasonal debut.

Last season’s champion staying novice put in a good round of jumping to claim the Future Stars Intermediate Chase at Sandown.

A delighted Henderson said: “It was straightforward. His jumping was great. He just needed a run and I think he was running a bit fresh. He settled well and he jumped beautifully. That was ideal.

“Our objective is the King George and most agreed the sensible thing was to come here (rather than the Betfair Chase at Haydock).

“He won’t run again until then and he’ll be miles straighter than he was today. That’s part one done.

“Our job is now to get him there on Boxing Day quite a lot fitter than he was today. I wouldn’t say a racecourse gallop would go amiss, actually.

“We’ll try and win the King George and then make a second-half-of-the-season plan.”

Responding to Might Bite’s run, Bookmakers were quick to cut the odds – he is now 5/1 from 10/1 for the Gold Cup and just 4/1 to win any race at the Cheltenham Festival 2018.

“We were seriously impressed and ‘Might Bite’ has halved his price for the Gold Cup,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams.