IT ALL COMES GOOD IN THE END

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Kauto Star powers home to save Hayler.

By Will Hayler

I played all of my trump cards in one go today.

I wore different trousers, I put my money in a different pocket, I said a quiet prayer and promised to go to church. I even sang Van Morrison.

The problem is now that I don't know which one of them worked. I shall have to try doing just one of them tomorrow when I go to Wetherby and establish the facts through process of elimination.

Alternatively I could just accept that Kauto Star was brilliant and that the four hours I spent wading through the form last night was utterly wasted. You didn't need to look for long to realise that he was the best horse in the race - it was just a question of whether fate would get in his way.

In fact the race couldn't have gone better for him. He looked fine beforehand, calm at the start and settled wonderfully in the race. He was odds-on in-running after just a few fences.

I couldn't start celebrating until he had passed the post. I knew Tony McCoy would keep chucking everything at Exotic Dancer until the very last stride and by the time the winning post came, the winning margin was down to two and a half lengths.

I shook throughout the race. My heartbeat was so strong it could have powered the lights in the grandstand.

But he did it. I did it. I failed to lose money at the 2007 Cheltenham Festival.

The irony is that so - according to their PR people - did the bookmakers. We could in fact have just shook hands at the start of the week and agreed to enjoy the racing without any money changing hands.

On the plus side, it would have saved an awful lot of heartache (having three horses I had backed fall at the same fence when in contention might be a record that takes some beating), but it would also have left me with a severe endorphin shortage.

As I write this, I am in a unique position out of all the Cheltenham Festivals I have attended. I don't have a huge view on the County Hurdle and I don't need to find one in order to balance the books.

If I don't have a bet I can go home with my held high (well, higher than last night) and a wallet containing more than receipts and bus tickets.

That said, Fair Along does look really well-handicapped doesn't he? And Richard Johnson owes me for that awful ride in the Arkle.

This is a time to be strong. But I am weak. Just be thankful it's only once a year.

Will Hayler is racing correspondent for the London Evening Standard.