The biggest day in the racing calendar and one of the best moments of the sporting year. All eyes are on stable mates Denman and Kauto Star as they square up for their third Cheltenham Gold Cup clash, with the score standing at 1-1. Can Kauto Star join the Cheltenham legends Golden Miller, Arkle and Best Mate and become a three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner or will Denman add victory in 2010 to his 2008 triumph?
Proven Cheltenham form has been crucial, with eight of the last 10 winners having won or been placed at a previous Festival.
The eagerly anticipated third Gold Cup clash between Paul Nicholls’ two brilliant chasers Kauto Star and Denman is the spine-tingling highlight of the Festival.
Both Nicholls runners are aged 10 and there has only one winner of that age in the past 16 runnings.
Having won this in 2007, Kauto Star had an interrupted preparation in 2008 and had to give best to the Hennessy Gold Cup winner Denman 12 months later.
Denman was a shadow of his former self for the majority of last season after a heart problem, but his fine second in the race proved he was on the way back as Kauto Star regained the Gold Cup.
Victory in this season’s Hennessy put Denman back in contention but ‘the Tank’ subsequently made sloppy jumping errors in the Aon Chase at Newbury and his confidence must come into question.
After a fourth King George VI Chase victory (by 36 lengths!), Kauto Star has now won 13 Grade 1 races and is odds-on to win a third Gold Cup.
Of the pretenders, Imperial Commander ran Kauto Star to a nose at Haydock at the start of the season but this extended 3m2f trip is a question-mark, so Cooldine, last year’s leading novice chaser, is the best hope to test the dynamic duo.















Twitter