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Paul Nicholls, the 13-time champion trainer and joint record-holder of six Champion Chase successes, is confident his 33-1 shot Greaneteen can outrun expectations in the upcoming Cheltenham Festival.

After a third-place finish at the Game Spirit event in Newbury, Nicholls is looking ahead to the meeting in March with optimism. He believes that the fast ground of Newbury was not in Greaneteen's favour, and that a good workout at Lambourn tomorrow and the particular conditions of Cheltenham will be more suited to the Chris Giles-owned chaser.

The trainer also looks forward to the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle on the Wednesday of the festival and his 5-2 favourite Hermes Allen, who put on an imperious performance to win the Grade 1 Challow Novices' Hurdle at Newbury in December. Nicholls commented that Hermes Allen "has a huge amount of ability" and that "he's very good" – expressing confidence that he will be in contention with the best.

The trainer's comments come with a reminder of a previous critical error: Denman was expected to win the Ballymore but was beaten, a race which Nicholls believes "he should have won".

Overall, Paul Nicholls is confident in his festival runners; Greaneteen and Hermes Allen both have the ability and necessary conditions of the course to place well. His experiences of previous meetings, such as the Denman race, keep him mindful that winning is never a given. But with his past successes and the quality of Greaneteen and Hermes Allen, the specialist trainer is determined to be in with the best.