Kauto Star's morning canter provides some Cheltenham encouragement

Kauto Star took what those close to him described as a "big step forward" as he recovers from an injury sustained in a falllast week. His trainer, Paul Nicholls, remained cautious about his chances of lining up in the Cheltenham Gold Cup a week on Friday but was encouraged by a morning canter by the horse. "He's going in the right direction very quickly," Nicholls told Channel 4. "Clifford [Baker] had difficulty pulling him up, which is a good sign with him." Through his Betfair column, Nicholls described the horse as having "a bit more of a buzz and a spring in his step". Ballabriggs was fourth at Kelso on Saturday on his final prep-run before the Grand National, but that was enough to have his trainer, Donald McCain, radiating satisfaction. The horse won last year's National after being second at odds-on in this same race and his jockey, Jason Maguire, reckoned this was a better performance than he had put up 12 months ago. "He's a big horse and he takes plenty of graft and the only way to get him ready is at the races," said McCain.