Gold Cup Preview:There is an anoraky school of thought that suggests Kempton's King George VI Chase at Christmas is modern steeplechasing's real championship event, but try telling that to the Kauto Star camp at 3.15 this afternoon when the old game's latest potential superstar lines up for the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Kauto Star is on the verge of many things today, not least a £1 million bonus if he can complete the Betfair Cup-King George-Gold Cup treble, but it's his potential to join the greats that will stir the soul of all those hoping for the crowning of a true champion.

Possessed of an engine that has had the purists purring all season, and a habit of throwing in the odd horlicks of a jump that has those same tongues clucking disapproval, Kauto Star has cast his considerable shadow over most of the festival.

Because whatever the anoraks say, the Gold Cup remains the overwhelming benchmark for what constitutes a great steeplechaser.

It may be true that in recent years the King George has provided those obsessed with figures more to salivate over, but it's remarkable how the Gold Cup still manages to tease out any weaknesses among those Christmas jollies, leaving only the real top-notchers coming through.

Desert Orchid, for instance, was infinitely better at Kempton than at Cheltenham but still scraped a Gold Cup victory in 1989. Best Mate's preferences were the other way round, but he still secured a King George to go with three Gold Cups.

What Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh are hoping for is that Kauto Star has enough bottom to his brilliance to be among that elite camp, and not end up mingling with the likes of Florida Pearl and One Man, who always found the lung-sapping Cheltenham Gold Cup hill one challenge too many.

The omens, it has to be said, look good. For one thing, the gluepot conditions that threatened Kauto Star's still-unproven stamina credentials around here have lifted to provide a surface that Nicholls and co could hardly have dared hope for last week.

Another element is that, while 18 opponents are scheduled to line up against him, not one of them looks to have the quality to come within screeching distance of the favourite's latent quality.

The likes of L'Ami, The Listener and Cane Brake would have preferred the ground to stay boglike, the better to close the quality gap. And Michael Hourigan's last throw of the dice to try to get Beef Or Salmon to show his true ability around here has been to organise a commando-like raid on Cheltenham, the veteran chaser being flown in late to try to overcome his apparent loathing of the place.

The bookmakers believe it is up to Exotic Dancer to present the most potent equine threat to Kauto Star. But while Jonjo O'Neill's horse boasts an enviable record around the track, he also boasts a set of cheek-pieces that provide an unsettling reminder of how Exotic Dancer might still be only a mood-switch away from roguery.

In fact, boil it all down, and presuming normal luck in running, Kauto Star's biggest threat is probably himself.

Why he decides to throw in the sort of howler that nearly blew the King George, and almost blew a hole in the final fence of his Newbury warm-up, is a question Nicholls and Walsh will have been agonising over constantly.

Seeing too much daylight was one theory put forward at Newbury, but it wasn't as if he was operating Crusoe-like with L'Ami right alongside him.

Roaring from the crowd was purported to have distracted him from the last obstacle of the King George, but that will be the twittering of mute sparrows compared to the bellowing that will come from the Cheltenham stands if a similar situation unfolds today.

The probably reality is that Kauto Star is the only one who really knows why he puts in the odd howler - and he ain't telling.

One other factor that the sceptics have pounced on is Kauto Star's failure to get beyond the third fence in last year's Champion Chase, but Nicholls is convinced Cheltenham will actually suit his horse.

One undeniable plus for the favourite is having Walsh on his back, and it's not hard to envisage the champion jockey slowly creeping his way into the race and only playing his hand at the last - or maybe even after the last.

Because it's impossible to forget how Kauto Star first showed his potential for staying stardom at Haydock last November when ridden that way. There wasn't a semblance of a mistake throughout, nor any sign of him stopping at the end of three miles on soft ground.

Walsh's reaction alone on passing the post that day was enough to tell everyone that something very much out of the ordinary had just happened.

Provided Walsh can persuade Kauto Star to not indulge in any more jumping brainstorms, the way looks clear for a similarly impressive coronation now.

Verdict

1Kauto Star

2State Of Play

3My Will