Kauto a confident choice to regain winning thread

KAUTO STAR, currently around 4-1 to regain his Cheltenham Gold Cup crown, can take his first step towards that goal by landing the JNwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal this afternoon.

A brilliant horse on his day, he has reportedly been giving connections a lot of satisfaction for a number of weeks now and has to be a confident choice.

The eight-year-old produced a superb display to win the King George at Kempton last season, but rounded off his campaign with two relatively disappointing efforts when beaten by Denman in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and by Our Vic at Aintree. But this represents a gentle introduction and only The Listener can be put foward as a realistic challenger. He will love the ground and is capable of going a swinging gallop from the start.