For all that it would be great to see Kauto and Denman take each other on outside the Festival, the fact that they only meet in the Gold Cup does allow the tension to build to near breaking-point through the season – especially given the scale of the performances each horse achieved in their last run. It’s almost better that they don’t meet beforehand, in order that the end-game can be played out in the Gold Cup. It is almost stupefyingly mouth-watering now.
Much as I’ve always been in the Kauto Star camp, I don’t think statements like “Even Denman would have been beaten X lengths today” are at all helpful or necessary. We should just be grateful that, for all that they have different styles and preferences, both horses appear equally suited to the rigours of a Gold Cup. I don’t think there is even a ground bias, and if there is one at all, it is probably in Kauto’s favour (if it came up quicker).
Both are tremendous examples of steeplechasers, for similar, and also very different, reasons. That’s something worth celebrating, regardless of the outcome in March.