Kauto Star, the odds-on favourite, is the king in waiting.

The upstanding white-blazed six-year-old, trained by the champion Paul Nicholls, is unbeaten in three this season and has shown, by winning the three-mile Betfair Chase at Haydock and then the twomile Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown, that he is that rare beau ideal, a stayer with sprinting speed.

Owner Clive Smith's bestknown horse previously was the brave Grand National runner-up Royal Auclair, but Kauto Star has been different from the moment he trounced a good rival, Foreman, on his British debut. "I have no background of horses, " said Smith, "but I became attracted to the sport because of the spectacle and the beauty of the animals. And you do become involved with them.

They do such service for you, stir such emotions.

"I can still recall the real buzz I got that first time in my colours. He showed terrific speed as he went straight past Foreman and you could see then that there was something extra-special there."

The gelding had shown topclass form in his native France and was not cheap, costing Smith nearly £300,000.

He has already won back his purchase price and, should he add the King George to his Haydock win, and then take the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Grade 1 treble will bring a bonus of £1 million.

Such a feat, or even the promise of it if the second leg is safely secured on Tuesday, will take Kauto Star bounding over the fence that divides this sport from the wider public. It falls to few horses to do that;

one who did, the four-time King George winner Desert Orchid, will be missing from the day he made his own for the first time in 20 years.

The great grey, who died last month, led the parade in the years since he ended his career with a fall in the 1991 King George. Since him, two more with snowy coats, One Man and Teeton Mill, have brought a whimsically seasonal touch to proceedings.

And Monet's Garden, the horse perceived as the one most likely to poop the Kauto Star party, is another Dessie lookalike. The dappled Roselier eight-year-old is trained at Greystoke, Cumbria, by Nicky Richards, whose late father Gordon who sent One Man to win the midwinter showpiece ten years ago for the second time.

"Colour apart, the two are more than a bit similar to look at, " said Richards. "Their style of racing is much the same and, like One Man, Monet's Garden jumps very well."

Monet's Garden, owned by Cheshire businessman David Yates, has had just one run this season, a defeat of top French chaser Mid Dancer at Carlisle, where he produced a metronome gallop and series of leaps.

He has never fallen in 15 runs; Kauto Star has been on the floor three times. Though the grey Irish-bred has yet to tackle the King George trip over fences, he was formerly a high-class staying hurdler.

"Three miles is his trip all right, " said Richards, "and he'll be well-suited by a track like Kempton." The Cumbrian trainer is a realist, but there was a twinkle in his voice when he added: "From all accounts Kauto Star is a world-beater and the rest of us will be running for second place. But Monet's will be ready to do his best."