Preview By Dave Turner from cheltenham-festival.net Unless the heavens open in biblical fashion it seems foolish to desert the reigning champion KAUTO STAR and the Clive Smith-owned superstar can win his third Gold Cup at the main expense of stablemate Denman, with a Paul Nicholls 1-2-3 a realistic possibility. He was made to work hard for ‘victory’ in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on his first start (I still can’t split him and Imperial Commander on the photo print) but was always expected to come on plenty for that.

His subsequent performance at Kempton on Boxing Day, when he won his fourth King George, was a joy to behold and whilst those in behind were not at their best, it was a simply a stunning performance. He has been trained all year for this and is expected to glide to victory.

Connections of stablemate Denman must work out a plan on how to beat the Champion, with a strong gallop forcing him into making errors the obvious route. Reports from the yard have been positive since his error-strewn performance in the Aon Chase but it is hard to be too confident about his link-up with new jockey AP McCoy. On that evidence one of these forceful personalities will have to give way in order for the pair to prevail. Imperial Commander ran such a good race at Haydock that his subsequent defeat at Kempton was a real let down.

Admittedly he made some serious errors early in the race and hopes must be pinned on this course specialist revelling in a return to going left-handed. If he gets the trip (jockey is confident he will) then he could be a real thorn in the side of his more illustrious rivals. Cooldine was emphatic when winning the RSA Chase here twelve months ago but hasn’t fired since. His effort behind Joncol in the Lexus was more like it, however that form still leaves him with a mountain to climb and the novice form from last year looks nothing special.

Carruthers is a gallant front-running handicapper and a victory for his owner Lord Oaksey would raise the roof, but it is unlikely, so a bigger danger could be Tricky Trixster, the third-string of the Ditcheat team. He was being given a quiet ride behind Denman before his departure at Newbury and it was only then that his rider got after him. He battled on tremendously to take the race from Niche Market. It would be foolish to think that form would see him within fifty lengths here, but he is open to improvement and whilst the Grand National is his main target, he could easily run on into a place here with stamina a real asset.

My Will is having a prep run for Aintree but he ran a blinder in this last year, whilst Mon Mome is another using this race as a stepping stone to the Grand National and it has worked for horses in the past. Calgary Bay’s trainer has admitted that they are tilting at windmills, a comment that must also apply to Mr Pointment and stablemate Cerium. This is no walk in the park for the great Kauto Star, but it is a race that should provide him with his third Gold Cup.