The trainer has described the question as “crazy” and the jockey has said no-one has asked him, but the debate is as persistent as the one that keeps buzzing around Gordon Brown about when he will call a general election.

 As denials go, they were both succinct enough. Ever since Denman stormed back to top form, when he won the Hennessy Gold Cup in November, the likelihood of a prime vacancy come March has been apparent.

He is the most realistic opposition to stable companion Kauto Star’s hold on the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup but, assuming both horses make it to the start on March 19th, it is hard to believe that Ruby Walsh would desert Kauto Star, so that leaves the ride on Denman up for grabs.  Chances are that even if Denman runs on at Cheltenham on Saturday, in the Argento Chase, Walsh will be in the saddle. But then what?

Ten days ago Tony McCoy was asked whether he had been offered the ride on Denman and replied: “Certainly not. I’m sure whoever does get the ride will be very lucky. I’d certainly gladly appreciate it if it did happen.”

Paul Nicholls, who trains both horses, has said that no decision will be made until much nearer the time of the Gold Cup. Fair enough, but one former champion Flat jockey would never have left it at that. McCoy may be champion jockey but his contract to ride for JP McManus has sometimes left him on the sidelines come the big races, a state of affairs that leaves him frustrated. “One thing I admire about Lester Piggott is the way he always got on the best horse,” he once said. “It didn’t matter who was riding him, who trained him or owned him, if he wanted to ride it that was it. He wasn’t a popular person for that, but I think I could cope with that. I don’t want to sound as if I have a divine right to be riding everything, but you’d like to be asked.”

That is the difference between McCoy and Piggott – Piggott never waited to be asked. He simply spied his prey and set off in an indefatigable pursuit, wearing down his quarry – be it an owner or trainer – before going in for the kill. A prime example of that was the way that Piggott engineered the ride on Commanche Run in the 1984 St Leger.

Commanche Run was the favourite for the race and due to be ridden by Darrel McHargue, who was retained jockey for the colt’s trainer, Luca Cumani. The horse was owned by Ivan Allen, himself a trainer in Singapore and Hong Kong, who was finally persuaded by Piggott’s persistence. “Lester kept on ringing me up,” Allen recalled years later. “He told me that McHargue couldn’t ride a bicycle and eventually I gave in.”

Piggott rode what was a record-breaking 28th British Classic winner but the irony for McCoy is that he was once the regular jockey for Nicholls before switching to Martin Pipe – a decision that was not without its acrimony. In a recent interview McCoy explained his reasoning behind the move. “I wanted more than anything to be champion jockey so I moved from Paul. Martin Pipe had been champion trainer six times by then so it was a no-brainer. I knew I could ride 160 winners a season for Martin and my goal was to keep on being champion jockey. But Paul’s set-up is very different now.

“Paul was right to be angry with me. It probably wasn’t the most loyal thing but I was young and I did what was best for me. I’m still glad I did it. I rode 1200 winners for Martin and lots were in big races.”

Which comes back to the ride on Denman and the biggest race of the season. Nicholls could easily opt for his No.2 jockey, Christian Williams, or Sam Thomas, the man who has ridden Denman in the last two Gold Cups but the suggestion is that the ride will be offered to whoever is regarded as the best option available.

That could, for example, include Barry Geraghty, who has a 33% strike-rate for the yard but possibility the of McCoy being in the saddle on Denman adds another dimension to a race that has already been dubbed the “war of the ‘Wolds”.

The match-up between Kauto Star and Denman in the Gold Cup stands at 1-1 and the prospect of Walsh and McCoy – regarded as the two headline jockeys in the jumps weighing room – going head-to-head on the two best jump horses in training would be pure marketing gold. 

No-one would deny that.

Paul Wheeler