Kauto Star primed for King George high five

All the hard work is done for the team behind Kauto Star - now the horse must do the talking on the track as immortality beckons in the William Hill King George VI Chase at Kempton.

Those closest to the 11-year-old insist he is as good as ever as he prepares to win Saturday's great race for the fifth year in succession, a feat which would eclipse - at least numerically - Desert Orchid. "He is fit and well and ready to go," said champion trainer Paul Nicholls. "When you're running in a Grade One in that sort of company it's always hard to win, but we're happy with the way he is and his record at Kempton is second to none.

"There's no point going into the race being negative. We're positive and we think he's well. If he runs like he did last year he's bound to go well. He loves the track. Last year he won very well, he beat some decent horses and it was a very good run, although I still think when you win a Gold Cup it's as good a run as any. He was impressive (in the King George], but to win the Gold Cup is as good as any horse will achieve. We thought we had him as good as ever in last season's Gold Cup, but it didn't work out right.

"In his work at home he is no different to how he has always been. Clifford (Baker, head lad] rides him every day and thinks he is just as good as ever."

But just as Kauto Star has swapped blows with stablemate Denman over the years, it is once again from within that may lurk his biggest danger.

• Musselburgh doubles for Graham Lee and Dougie Costello, while jockeys in hot water at Huntingdon

Nicholls has been consistently keen on his second string The Nightingale, a young horse on the up and impressive when winning on the same Down Royal card as Kauto Star in November.

He has been the subject of sustained market support in the wake of positive bulletins, and Nicholls added: "He goes well right-handed, he likes cut in the ground and the form of his win in Ireland has worked out really well. If it was a handicap he would be giving Long Run weight. He's not without a chance, he's improving and is an unexposed horse. There's probably only him and Riverside Theatre in there that are unexposed like that.

"No-one really knows how good he is and I think he will run a really good race. When it looked like he didn't stay over hurdles that was before he had a breathing operation - I don't think the trip will be an issue."

The magic of Kauto Star also burns as strongly as ever for owner Clive Smith as he prepares for another special Kempton afternoon, albeit one that should have happened on Boxing Day and has been nervously delayed a couple of weeks by the weather. For golf course magnate Smith, there will never be another horse like his French-bred superstar.Smith can hardly believe his luck - and will never forget the early days on the road to what has turned out to be true equine fame and glory.

He said: "I go down and see Kauto quite a lot - maybe ten or 12 times a year - and it's still all very interesting. The excitement of the King George does grow year after year - but equally there was nothing quite like the first time (2006)] especially the two jumps he made at three out and at the last one."

Kauto Star's return at Down Royal saw him put in an assured performance in victory to dispel the doubters after his crashing fall in the Gold Cup last March.

Smith said: "It looked a serious fall at Cheltenham and I was very worried, thinking it might be the end, but I saw Ruby (Walsh] jump back on him and canter back with the cheers from the crowd. I hoped for the best really this season, he did well over the summer and we thought he had come back pretty good. He has certainly more than done that and is better than ever, I would have thought.

"I remember when Dessie (Desert Orchid] won four out of five and in what turned to be his last King George he was last and at the back of the field at the top of the straight.

"Thinking back to that, I would not want Kauto to run like that, I would rather he went out at the top. We'll see. I think he could win this, and the Gold Cup or whatever, but he'll never be pushed beyond what he wants."

But while Smith, Nicholls and his army of followers will be avid onlookers at Kempton, thoughts will inevitably be with absent friends, as Walsh, so much a part of the story, continues his recuperation from a leg injury.

An unwelcome injury setback also ruled out his more-than-able deputy Noel Fehily, with Tony McCoy being called up to cap a magical couple of months following his crowning as BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

The delayed williamhill.com Christmas Hurdle will also be run, with champion hurdler Binocular also to be ridden by McCoy. He faces a small but select field - including Nigel Twiston-Davies' Khyber Kim, Alan Fleming's Starluck, and Donald McCain's Overturn - but his biggest obstacle may be the soft ground.