By Frank Keogh

Beaten King George VI Chase favourite Kauto Star would have a "great chance" in the Cheltenham Gold Cup under Ruby Walsh, says his owner Clive Smith.

Smith hopes injured Walsh will be back to ride the four-time King George winner, who was third to Long Run for Tony McCoy at Kempton on Saturday.

"Tony is a great jockey but maybe Ruby is more to his liking," said Smith.

McCoy will ride dual champion chaser Master Minded for Smith in the Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot this Saturday.

Speculation had mounted after the King George on Saturday that Kauto Star may be retired, but Smith insisted: "He is not past his best by any means at all."

Walsh has been out for two months with a broken leg and is not due to return until mid to late February.

Smith hopes he will stay loyal to dual Gold Cup winner Kauto Star rather than choose to ride one of his stablemates such as 2008 champion Denman, rising star Pride of Dulcote or What A Friend, part-owned by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

"Tony is a fantastic chap and as great as I think he is, his style is slightly different," said Smith.

"Ruby will be back full of beans probably by the end of February and I do want him to ride in the Gold Cup. It would be nice if he was on him again. I would think we've got a great chance. "

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Kauto Star started odds-on favourite as he set off to create racing history with an unprecedented fifth consecutive victory in the three-mile chase at Kempton.

Walsh had been in the saddle for his previous four King George wins but broke his leg in November.

Noel Fehily, another jockey used by Somerset-based champion trainer Paul Nicholls, was initially chosen as a replacement before he was ruled out with a wrist injury, and BBC Sports Personality of the Year McCoy was called up.

McCoy had Kauto Star positioned for a challenge in the latter stages of the race, but he could not go with the pace of Long Run and the 15-time champion jockey did well to stay on as his mount ploughed through the penultimate fence.

Nicholls was quick to counter retirement talk on Sunday as he reported the horse would be aimed at the Gold Cup, for which he is rated 10-1 fourth favourite by bookmakers.

The trainer said Kauto Star had suffered a minor bleed from his nostrils, which Smith believes indicated he may have bled internally after his exertions.

However, the horse was reported to be fine the following day and his owner says he would not risk him if he appeared to be deteriorating.

"Maybe Kauto wasn't quite at his best on Saturday, but when they came around the bottom bend, he was only a couple of lengths behind, and then he hit the second last fence," said Smith.

Northern Irishman McCoy has won more than 3,000 races in a record-breaking career and is considered by many to be the greatest jump jockey of all-time.

Long Run and Kauto Star jump together at Kempton

He claimed the BBC award in December after winning the Grand National at the 15th attempt with a carefully judged ride on Don't Push It.

This was the third occasion he had lost when riding a Gold Cup winner for the first time. McCoy was beaten in the 2001 King George on Best Mate, before winning a year late, and was unseated by Denman in 2010.

Speaking shortly after the race, he told BBC Sport: "It's disappointing that a horse like Kauto Star, who has won four King Georges gets beat.

"He's a fantastic horse and it would have been great if he'd won a fifth King George.

"There's no real clear-cut excuses as to why he didn't win. He obviously made a bad mistake at the second last but he was beaten by then.

"As for the race itself, it went pretty much to plan and I couldn't really find a reason why he didn't win."

Asked if he felt age had caught up with the 11-year-old Kauto Star, who is five years older than Long Run, McCoy said: "Who knows? I don't know him well enough.

"I'm just disappointed that the day I got to ride him he didn't perform. Himself and Best Mate are the two best chasers I've seen in my time riding so I think he deserves a lot of credit.

"This horse has won four King Georges and two Gold Cups. A racing CV that is second to none. "

Kauto Star fell heavily in the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup, which was won by Imperial Commander, before scoring on his seasonal return at Down Royal in November.

Imperial Commander and Long Run are among the entries for this year's running of the blue riband event on 18 March.

Meanwhile, Smith said McCoy will be on board Master Minded at Ascot on Saturday in what is likely to be his last race before bidding for a third Queen Mother Champion Chase victory at Cheltenham

"He's fine. Unlike last year, when he had a cracked rib, he's had an uninterrupted programme," said Smith of Master Minded.

"I talked about it with Paul yesterday and we said we would like to have Tony on him. He'll ride him well."

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