Jump racing's big two are likely to clash again at Cheltenham as champion trainer Paul Nicholls promised that he will "do everything possible to get Kauto Star and Denman back for the Gold Cup next March in the form of their lives".

While Flat aficionados are pondering whether they will get one last chance to watch wonder horse Sea The Stars in action again, National Hunt fans will be looking eagerly forward to a third Gold Cup meeting between the chasing giants.

Speaking at his annual owners' open day, the Somerset trainer said: "The clash would be so good for racing but there are a lot of bridges to be crossed before we get there."

Denman signalled his arrival as one of the best Gold Cup winners in memory when he beat a below-par Kauto Star by seven lengths in the 2008 renewal but Kauto Star, who had won the race in 2007, avenged that defeat in March when Nicholls had to pull out all the stops to get Denman fit.

Kauto Star is expected to make his seasonal debut in the Champion Chase at Down Royal in November, while Denman's programme will include the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown but he could head to Newbury for the Hennessy Gold Cup first.

Nicholls said: "Denman looked like a hat rack this time last season after a treatment like chemotherapy.

"To end up finishing second in the Gold Cup says a lot about the horse he is. He is tanking along now. He'll have an entry for the Hennessy and the Betfair Chase."

Sea The Stars, who earned a fifth Group 1 of the season when taking the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, seems more likely to head to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on 4 October than the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Although trainer John Oxx has not ruled out a trip to California, he is presently not looking at targets beyond Longchamp. "The horse will decide rather than the owner or trainer where we go and the Arc is the next race coming up," said Oxx.

"There is the Champion Stakes at Newmarket after the Arc but we will see what the ground is like before each race. Then there is Santa Anita but 7 November is a long way away."

Sea The Stars has joined the list of all-time greats according to ratings organisation Timeform, who have provisionally given the colt a rating of 140, which puts him alongside Shergar, Dancing Brave and Dubai Millennium as the third-best horse since 1970.

Only Brigadier Gerard (144) and Mill Reef (141) have been allotted bigger ratings by Timeform since 1970.