The 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup is shaping up to be a very exciting race and although at the time of writing the ante post favourite is clearly last year’s winner Long Run (on which the best odds available are around 24/10 on Betfair) it is by no means certain that he will equal last year’s performance. Kauto Star, the winner of the Gold Cup in 2007 and 2009 is back in contention and is priced around 4/1 which makes him second favourite. Grand Crus is the third favourite at 9/1 and the fourth is Synchronised at 12/1.

Before the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day 2011 it looked as if it was a fairly safe bet to pick Long run as the 2012 Gold Cup winner, but now choosing between Long Run and Kauto Star is a little bit more difficult.
Before his winning performance at the 2011 King George VI Chase it appeared that Kauto Star might be getting a little old, however horses that are getting a little past their prime rarely win races such as that one on the fifth occasion. According to his rider Ruby Walsh, Kauto Star is as fine a horse as once was Arkle. Long Run had been the firm favourite and it did seem that the smart money was on him. In the end he was beaten by one and a half lengths by Kauto Star in a remarkable and courageous run. Kauto Star and Ruby Walsh are a fine combination and the horse ran and jumped with all the appearance of a horse half his age. His blues of last year’s mid-season triple failures seem to be despatched to history; Kauto Star is back. The crowd was ecstatic.
In the Cheltenham Gold Cup Kauto Star and long Run will race against each other for the fifth occasion and each has won on two of the occasions. So which of them will win in 2012?
The Gold Cup is a particularly testing race and the final run up the Cheltenham Hill can be particularly gruelling; many horses have lost the race just there. If you bet with your heart then Kauto Star might be your choice, but if you bet with your head then you might consider that the younger legs on Long Run will propel him up the hill to be first past the post.