Vaucelet the one for Cheltenham as David Christie builds a smart set of hunter chasers to tackle major festivals

David Christie is assembling a formidable team of hunter chasers for the spring and Vaucelet is set to be handed the responsibility of tackling the St James's Place Festival Hunters' Chase at Cheltenham.

Christie has plenty of ammunition to aim at the most prestigious hunter chases at Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown over the coming months as he houses four of the most promising horses in that division in Vaucelet, Winged Leader, Ferns Lock and Ultimate Optimist.

Vaucelet had a very productive spring last season when winning the O’Reilly Memorial Hunter Chase at Fairyhouse before narrowly losing out to Billaway at Punchestown after getting the final fence all wrong.