Vauban's primary goal is to participate in the Melbourne Cup again in Australia, although Willie Mullins has not completely ruled out a potential appearance at the Punchestown Festival.
The six-year-old, owned by Rich and Susannah Ricci, has not been seen in action since his disappointing 14th-place finish out of 23 runners as the favourite in last year's Melbourne Cup.
Since then, Vauban has not competed in hurdle races, with his last outing being a second-place finish behind stable companion State Man, who is the current champion hurdler at the Punchestown Festival last season. Following that, Vauban shifted his focus to Flat racing.
He achieved success at Royal Ascot by winning the Copper Horse Handicap, defeating another stablemate, Absurde, who recently won the County Hurdle. Subsequently, Vauban comfortably won the Group Three Ballyroan Stakes before embarking on his journey to Australia.
“He might get a run in Punchestown if he’s ready but I think I’m going to concentrate on getting him back to Melbourne in ship shape and have another crack at the Melbourne Cup in November,” Mullins said.