Vautour a possible for Irish Arkle French trainer Guillaume Macaire has backed former inmate Vautour to reach the top over fences. Macaire used to trained last season's Supreme Novices' Hurdle hero before he was sent to Willie Mullins, for whom he won six races on the spin. Things did not go to plan at Leopardstown over Christmas, however, as he finished second behind Clarcam on his second start in novice chase company. Vautour is still a major fancy for the Arkle Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival in March, with Macaire convinced there is great deal more to come. He said: "Vautour is a special case for me as I trained the dam and the stallion. "He was very backward at the age of three and he did not see the racecourse until very late. "He was a champion at Cheltenham last year and is now chasing. "He is a big horse with a big frame and I think time will work for him. "He should be an even better horse over fences." Vautour could try to get his season back on track in the Frank Ward Solicitors Arkle Novice Chase at Leopardstown at the end of the month. Mullins said: "He wasn't moving well on the day at Leopardstown. No real problem showed up afterwards and it was probably a bit of a tight muscle. "I gave him an easy time after the race and hopefully we can get him back to where he was. "The Arkle at Leopardstown is a possible next race for him."
