Ten years on: why the first Kauto Star v Denman Gold Cup was the perfect race

Ten years ago I was a student nearing the end of a not very productive spell in higher education. More to the point, I was also a fervent Kauto Star fan with a faith in Paul Nicholls' superstar that made the Mujahideen look like dilettantes.

I even kept a newspaper cutting of him winning the 2007 Gold Cup in my wallet, so I could gaze adoringly upon it whenever I was supposed to be doing some work. And I told everyone who would listen – a diminished cohort even by that stage – that Kauto was the horse of the century, whose destiny it was to win again at Cheltenham in March.

I put my money where my mouth was, naturally – backing Kauto ante-post to the tune of hundreds and eventually thousands of pounds, and arrived at the track on Friday excited, drunk on nerves and breakfast Guinness, and fully expecting to win more money than I had ever seen before. I vividly recall being convinced it would be the greatest day of my life. Of course, Denman had other ideas.