By Cornelius Lysaght BBC racing correspondent

KAUTO STAR FACTFILE Age: 7 Trainer: Paul Nicholls Jockey: Ruby Walsh Owner: Clive Smith Races: 20 Wins: 11 2nd: 4 3rd: 3 Prize money: �527,000

Talk about polarising opinion.

It is hard to recall a horse/trainer/jockey/anybody who has split pre-Cheltenham Festival thought processes as spectacularly as Kauto Star.

He may be on an impressive winning streak, with five top-notch successes from five starts this season.

But the fact that that run has been punctuated by some five-star jumping errors has caused all kinds of alarm.

One Irish trainer I met recently described the horse, trained by Paul Nicholls for owner Clive Smith, as a "head-case" that no-one should run scared of.

And ex-champion jockey Peter Scudamore has led a chorus of pundits doubtful that Kauto Star, a faller at last year's Festival, can stay on his feet for all of the three and a quarter miles of the big race.

Despite all that, he and jockey Ruby Walsh are red-hot favourites for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, even more so now that two big rivals from Ireland, reigning champion War Of Attrition and the upwardly mobile In Compliance, are non-runners.

Some even talk of the 'new Desert Orchid', a successor to the crown of most popular chaser after the famous galloping grey, who died in 2006.

Kauto Star does, of course, have a legion of loyal admirers, ranging from the ardent to the fanatical, all of them pointing to the undeniable statistic that however badly he misjudges a fence (or sometimes two) he still wins.

And, they add, he is the best, most versatile steeplechaser in these islands.

606: DEBATE Kauto Star is the best chaser I have seen, but I would be worried if it came up really soft HH

There is no doubt in which of these two vocal camps Nicholls is to be found.

Hearing all the advice being offered, the champion trainer smiles.

"You wouldn't believe some of the things that have been said, from blinkers to ear plugs to do this, do that," he told BBC Sport.

"But I don't take any notice - you get so many grandstand jockeys - and we do our own thing and follow our own ideas."

Speaking carefully and thoughtfully, he warms to his theme, insisting: "I am not worried, because he is a good jumper, and this season his jumping has been exemplary, except for those silly mistakes.

"There is nothing for us to do apart from maybe fine-tune the tactics.

Ruby is learning to probably not trust him 100% and to know where he wants a bit of help Nicholls on jockey Ruby Walsh

"He will hopefully have learnt from his mistakes at Kempton (in the King George V1 Chase) and Newbury (the Aon Chase). Maybe he frightened himself as much as the rest of us."

Ex-jockey Nicholls, who rode 130 winners between 1980-89, added that jockey Walsh is getting to know the horse better all the time.

"After Kempton and then Newbury, Ruby is going to be more prepared (for any mistakes) than possibly he has been.

"He is learning to probably not trust him 100%, and to know where he wants a bit of help."

Kauto Star spearheads a powerful team of about 30 Festival runners from Nicholls' HQ in the Somerset countryside near Shepton Mallet.

Chatting in the local pub, the trainer gives big, optimistic mentions to chasers Denman (Royal and SunAlliance Chase), Gungadu (National Hunt) and Taranis (Ryanair), but his thoughts keep on returning to the big one.

"I have always felt that the two dangers are himself and very testing ground and that's probably a fair summing up on all known form - simple as that," he said.

The horse is the best in the line-up, Nicholls has done his bit and Kauto Star will probably win, unless...

It's enough to give the others a little bit of hope, and make this year's Gold Cup as fascinating as ever.

Keep up-to-date with all the action from Champion Hurdle day on Tuesday 12 March to the Gold Cup climax on Friday 16 March.