Vautour is the general 3/1 favourite for the Grade 1 JLT Novices' Chase at Cheltenham, a race which has attracted 60 entries.

The £120,000 contest is run over two and a half miles and Vautour's trainer has a very strong hand, with his 12 entries including Un De Sceaux and Valseur Lido.

Paul Nicholls is expected to aim Ptit Zig at this race and his other entries include Irish Saint and Saphir Du Rheu, who is set to run over hurdles at Cheltenham on Saturday.

JLT NOVICES' CHASE

Grade 1, £120,000. 1.30pm Cheltenham, Thursday, March 12th. 2m 4f.

Horse Age Owner Trainer

ADRIANA DES MOTTES (FR) 5 Susannah Ricci Willie Mullins IRE

APACHE JACK (IRE) 7 Mrs Pat Sloan Sandra Hughes IRE

APACHE STRONGHOLD (IRE) 7 Patricia Hunt Noel Meade IRE

ARTHUR'S SECRET (FR) 5 Raymond Mould Nigel Twiston-Davies

BALBIR DU MATHAN (FR) 6 Barry Connell Gordon Elliott IRE

BAND OF BLOOD (IRE) 7 Gigginstown House Stud Mouse Morris IRE

BIG WATER (IRE) 7 T B Tarn Alan Swinbank

CAROLE'S DESTRIER 7 Mrs C Skipworth Neil Mulholland

CAUSE OF CAUSES (USA) 7 J P McManus Gordon Elliott IRE

CHAMPAGNE WEST (IRE) 7 Roger Brookhouse Philip Hobbs

CHELTENIAN (FR) 9 Roger Brookhouse Philip Hobbs

CLOSE TOUCH 7 The Queen Nicky Henderson

COLD MARCH (FR) 5 Andrew Brooks Venetia Williams

COLOUR SQUADRON (IRE) 9 J P McManus Philip Hobbs

DEEP TROUBLE (IRE) 8 Lady Jane Grosvenor Ben Case

DON POLI (IRE) 6 Gigginstown House Stud Willie Mullins IRE

DRAYCOTT PLACE (IRE) 6 John Ryan John Ryan IRE

FINE RIGHTLY (IRE) 7 Miss Patricia Duffin Stuart Crawford IRE

FLORISHWELLS D'ETE (FR) 5 J P McManus Willie Mullins IRE

GILGAMBOA (IRE) 7 J P McManus Enda Bolger IRE

GITANE DU BERLAIS (FR) 5 Simon Munir/Isaac Souede Willie Mullins IRE

GOD'S OWN (IRE) 7 Crossed Fingers Partnership Tom George

GRUMETI 7 McNeill Family Alan King

HOLLOW PENNY 7 Mr David Sewell Alan King

IRISH SAINT (FR) 6 Mrs Johnny de la Hey Paul Nicholls

JARRY D'HONNEUR (FR) 6 J P McManus Willie Mullins IRE

JOSSES HILL (IRE) 7 Alan Spence Nicky Henderson

KILLALA QUAY 8 Richard & Susan Perkins Charlie Longsdon

KINGS LAD (IRE) 8 G F Gingell Colin Tizzard

KNOCK HOUSE (IRE) 6 Camilla Radford Mick Channon

LANDSCAPE (FR) 7 Andrew Brooks Venetia Williams

LE VENT D'ANTAN (FR) 6 Goliath Syndicate Liz Doyle IRE

LITTLE JON 7 R Frosell & Mrs L Taylor Nigel Twiston-Davies

MALA BEACH (IRE) 7 C Jones Gordon Elliott IRE

MELODIC RENDEZVOUS 9 Cash For Honours Jeremy Scott

MISTER SPINGSPRONG (IRE) 8 D Gilbert, M Lawrence, A Bruce Michael Smith

NOBLE EMPEROR (IRE) 7 J P McManus Tony Martin IRE

PERFECT GENTLEMAN (IRE) 10 Mrs J M Mullins Willie Mullins IRE

PTIT ZIG (FR) 6 Chris Giles,Barry Fulton & Richard Webb Paul Nicholls

PUFFIN BILLY (IRE) 7 Tim Syder Oliver Sherwood

REAL STEEL (IRE) 7 Gigginstown House Stud Mouse Morris IRE

RULE THE WORLD 8 Gigginstown House Stud Mouse Morris IRE

SAPHIR DU RHEU (FR) 6 The Stewart Family Paul Nicholls

SEVENTH SKY (GER) 8 John Heron Charlie Mann

SHANAHAN'S TURN (IRE) 7 Ann & Alan Potts Partnership Henry de Bromhead IRE

SMASHING (FR) 6 Ann & Alan Potts Partnership Henry de Bromhead IRE

SPLASH OF GINGE 7 J D Neild Nigel Twiston-Davies

STELLAR NOTION (IRE) 7 Roger Brookhouse Tom George

TANGO DE JUILLEY (FR) 7 Muhammad Nadeem Khan Venetia Williams

THE TULLOW TANK (IRE) 7 Barry Connell Sandra Hughes IRE

THREE KINGDOMS (IRE) 6 Bloomfields John Ferguson

TOP GAMBLE (IRE) 7 Walters Plant Hire & James & Jean Potter Richard Lee

TRAFFIC FLUIDE (FR) 5 Galloping On The South Downs Partnership Gary Moore

UN ACE (FR) 7 Ace In The Pack Partnership Kim Bailey

UN DE SCEAUX (FR) 7 E O'Connell Willie Mullins IRE

URANO (FR) 7 Mrs M McMahon Willie Mullins IRE

VAL DE FERBET (FR) 6 A Heffernan Willie Mullins IRE

VALSEUR LIDO (FR) 6 Gigginstown House Stud Willie Mullins IRE

VAUTOUR (FR) 6 Susannah Ricci Willie Mullins IRE

VROUM VROUM MAG (FR) 6 Susannah Ricci Willie Mullins IRE

60 entries

28 Irish-trained

Current betting: 3 Vautour, 4 Ptit Zig, 7 Valseur Lido, 8 Gilgamboa, 14 Splash Of Ginge, Apache Stronghold, 16 Vroum Vroum Mag, Le Vent D'Antan, 20/1 bar.