The soft option is meant to be the easy way out but it could be too hard according to some punters for Kauto Star.

The dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner lines up for the Grade One Betfair Chase at Haydock Park, a race that he has won twice before, rated at least 16lbs better than any of his eight rivals according to the official handicapper.

Kauto Star won the race by 17 lengths, ridden by Ruby Walsh in 2006, and repeated the victory a year later, this time with Sam Thomas in the saddle, albeit by a much-reduced margin when he beat Exotic Dancer by half a length.

However, there is a belief that the biggest handicap to a third victory for Kauto Star could be the ground at Haydock. Weather maps could prove as useful as form guides as the course has been drenched by persistent rain earlier this week – with more forecast – leaving the going on the track at present being described as “soft, heavy in places” by clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright.

That, so the theory runs, places too much of a burden on Kauto Star, especially as he has to take on a field that includes the likes of Notre Pere and Halcon Genelardais – both of whom are seen at their best when the mud is flying.

The view that Kauto Star might be vulnerable under soft conditions took root after he finished seven lengths second to stable companion Denman in the 2007 Gold Cup. Even Paul Nicholls, Kauto Star’s trainer, said as much after that race although he has revised that opinion. Then, when attempting the hat-trick in the Betfair, Kauto Star unseated Thomas at the last fence. That brought the almost obligatory “is he on the wane?” questions which were answered emphatically by Kauto Star winning the King George VI Chase for the third time and that second Gold Cup, where he beat Denman by 13 lengths.

As Kauto Star has not been out since winning the Gold Cup in March there is no evidence that he is anything less than the best staying chaser around although the Doubting Thomas Society were probably calling for extra supplies of midnight oil after another Nicholls star, Master Minded, was beaten on his first run of the season at Cheltenham on Sunday. However, the statistics still show that Nicholls has a 26% strike-rate for the season. So, not too many wheels are coming off the wagon just yet.

As for whether there are any grounds for believing that Kauto Star cannot at least handle testing ground, even if it does not play to his strengths, the case against him may not actually be built on the firmest of foundations.

The formbook certainly offers a more measured analysis of Kauto Star’s performances. Admittedly, he has been campaigned in recent seasons on ground that has not been at the extreme end of the scale but he has shown the capacity to cope with it. The nine-year-old’s 18 victories from 31 starts – which includes another seven seconds – have come on surfaces that range from good through to very soft on which he won four times when he was trained in France.

Bearing that in mind Kauto Star is likely to prove no soft touch at all.

Paul Wheeler