Owner Clive Smith believes Kauto Star (7/1 ante post Gold Cup betting) can bounce back and prove the doubters wrong when he heads to this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

The 11-year-old disappointed when finishing third in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Saturday, as he went in search of a record fifth win in the race.

Paul Nicholls (whose Master Minded is 6/1 to win Ryanair Chase) revealed that Kauto Star had suffered “a small bleed” at the weekend and there were some questions marks over whether he would be fit to run at the Festival.

But the trainer reports that the gelding is “fine” and insists that his charge will “go straight for the Gold Cup now” in mid-March.

The horse’s owner is excited at the prospect of Kauto Star making his fifth appearance in the Festival showpiece, which he has won twice in 2007 and 2009.

Smith said: “We think he’s OK and don’t think age has caught up with him. He didn’t quite get to his fences in his usual way (at Kempton) but I think he’s still got a good chance in the Gold Cup.”

Saturday’s winner Long Run is also expected to take his place in the Cheltenham field, as he attempts to become the first six-year-old since Mill House in 1963 to win the big race.