Kauto Star has been lined up for a crack at completing a hat-trick of Cheltenham Gold Cup victories and is 4/1 with bookmaker to do so, after a superb fifth win in the King George VI Chase.
The 11-year-old saw off Long Run by just over a length at Kempton Park, before trainer Paul Nicholls warned that there is more to come from his veteran charge.
He said: “If he gets to Cheltenham in that form he’ll be the one to beat in the Gold Cup.”
Jockey Ruby Walsh added after another superb show from Kauto Star: “He’s beaten a six-year-old (Long Run) and he’s 12 next week.
“You can say what you want about the best steeplechasers of all time, but he’s outlasted them all. He’s lasted longer than any other horse and that’s what makes him so brilliant.”