Coe v Ovett on the track as Kauto Star and Denman go head to head

So thinks Denman's joint-owner Harry Findlay, who declared here on Thursday: 'This is the only time we'll meet. If we do beat him we'll break him and then go a different route.' The Grand National is a long-term plan.

If this is Ali-Frazier, or Coe-Ovett, Findlay says there will be no rematch, no 'repeat or revenge', to borrow a popular boxing hook. Though the Kauto Star camp predict 'more battles ahead', the cognoscenti recognise how hard it would be to deliver these two iconic animals at such a sky-scraping peak again next year.

Kauto Star v Denman is a race to stop the country, a planetary collision that could enter sporting folklore. It is the most miraculous convergence of steeplechasing talent since Mill House was usurped by Arkle in 1964.

Hang it: let's call it the greatest Gold Cup duet in memory, by virtue of the fact that champion and challenger are neighbours and companions at the Paul Nicholls yard. The equine kingdom splits in two. Cheltenham's vast human cast of dreamers form two rival armies.

Bookmakers predict a record-breaking £300million splurge. They say the Festival's final day turnover will exceed the annual lemming-rush of the Grand National. But you don't need to have a bet to enjoy this face-off. Just this once, neutrality comes highly recommended.

Denman has won 12 of his 13 starts over hurdles and fences and has rattled up eight straight victories in staying chases. To Kauto Star he is the enemy within. But the defending champion's lustre grows with every outing.

According to the respected Timeform organisation, when Kauto Star runs to his highest rating of 184, as he did in his last two races, he is good enough to have won the last 40 Gold Cups. That stunning judgment tells Denman's followers their beast could need to be Pegasus to claim the throne.

The time to abandon a king of the Cotswolds hill is when he betrays signs of vulnerability, when his jumping deteriorates or his appetite wanes. That hour is not upon us. Kauto (pronounced Korto) Star delivered two of his three most highly-rated performances in his last two starts, at Kempton and Ascot.

Another Gold Cup win will earn his connections a second £1m bonus from bookmakers Betfair, and place him in a select group of seven horses who have won the race more than once. Arkle, Cottage Rake, Golden Miller, L'Escargot, Easter Hero and Best Mate are the others, so Kauto Star is shooting for the stars.

Think of a plot line and this race already has it. On the track — a hunk against a hulk. Up in the stands — a shy golf course tycoon (Clive Smith) against the machine-gun patter of professional gambler Findlay, who shares Denman with landowner, dairy farmer and cheese maker Paul Barber, one of the least likely alliances in racehorse ownership.

Smith has already struck one jackpot. Yesterday the brilliant five-year-old Master Minded annihilated his rivals in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Smith's colours now dominate from 2m to 3m 2f.

Denman's gang plan to raid Smith's nice bank. Findlay, who is in his element on days like these, has said: 'I see life as a casino. Money is chips to play life with.'

To this rich tangle of story lines we must add the Ruby Walsh-Sam Thomas showdown: the stable jockey versus the understudy. Given the choice, Walsh stayed loyal to the incumbent champ.

Nicholls says: 'If I was in Ruby's shoes I wouldn't get off him. You couldn't, could you? Having won last year's Gold Cup and done what he's done this year you couldn't desert him. If you came into the yard and hadn't ridden either horse it would be a hard question. But there was no way Ruby could get off him.

'When Denman won at Newbury recently he was getting a bit of stick, with people saying he ought to stay on him at Cheltenham. But then when Kauto won at Ascot, Ruby had a big smile on his face. I said: "You're happy, aren't you?" and he said: "Too right". I don't have to give Ruby orders.

'All I've ever said is ride him more positively. If they jump the second last together the best horse will win.'

The fantasy is a proper ding-dong to match Grundy-Bustino on the flat at Ascot in 1975. Class versus power, finesse against brute force. Maybe these simplifications under-estimate Denman, unfairly cast as 'a tank' chasing a Ferrari. To ask for another day like yesterday seems impertinent.

First came Master Minded, then the ear-busting roar that blew Inglis Drever to a hat-trick in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle — the blue riband for staying hurdlers. And yet these rousing triumphs may turn out to have been mere warm-up acts for the piece de resistance.

The owner of the late Best Mate, Jim Lewis, said of the two sets of owners: 'I know they're not sleeping well, I know that with every waking hour they see their horse coming up the hill in front.'

My eye sees Kauto Star, still leading the dance.

Four of the greatest battles

Seabiscuit v War Admiral (New York, 1938)

The west coast rags-to-riches hero dismissed the arrogant east coast aristocrat in the 'Match of the Century' that captivated America during the Depression.

Arkle v Mill House (Cheltenham, 1964)

Mill House, Britain's supposedly unbeatable heavyweight, met his match against the freakish hero of the Irish. Unquestionably the greatest Gold Cup duel, but will it be trumped on Friday?

Grundy v Bustino (Ascot, 1975)

The Flat's 'Race of the Century' when Bustino and his pacemakers failed to grind down the younger champion, who triumphed after a thrilling final furlong in the Diamond Stakes.

Monksfield v Sea Pigeon (Cheltenham, 1979)

Ireland's gutsy slugger fought back to catch the classy Sea Pigeon in a clash from the golden age of hurdling.

Pigeon reversed the result a year later, destroying his rival by seven lengths.