PNicholls

I tweeted yesterday that Kauto Star "did have a small bleed after the race and will go straight for the Gold Cup now" - but I will expand on that.

Firstly, I would like to thank all the people who came along to Kempton to cheer on Kauto Star on Saturday. And all those who expressed their good wishes before and after the race.

It is an honour to be associated with the horse.

But I can tell you now that reports of his demise are somewhat exaggerated, and there is no talk of retirement here.

I have just spoken to Clive. We agreed that Saturday's race now gives us a bit of challenge with the horse - and hopefully we, and most importantly, the horse will rise to it.

He will be prepared for a tilt at a third Gold Cup victory in March - different ground, different track, different day - and we would like to aim him for a third victory at Down Royal in the autumn, too.

As long as he is enjoying his racing and running well, then he will continue - he is 11, not 13.

Saturday was undoubtedly a big disappointment. He was never travelling or jumping with any real fluency, but it wasn't as if he ran a poor race. Without his blunder at the second last, he probably would have been a fair second to a very good horse.

But that clearly wasn't his best form.

I am not making excuses but I can reveal that when he got back home and stuck his head in the water bucket, he bled from both nostrils. He has never done it before, and will probably never do it again.

It wasn't a big bleed but it indicates that he probably bled during the race (possibly after his mistake at the second last, which meant he had to dig deep to get home), which would not have aided his cause.

But the horse was fine going into the race. You may have read that he wasn't buzzing in his box. But he is like a seasoned human athlete these days. Experience of big races breeds a certain calmness, and I think he was A1 going into the race, so there are no excuses on that score.

So it is up to me and my team here at Ditcheat to get him right for Cheltenham; and we will relish the challenge.

We fancied The Nightingale to run well but he may have found 3m too far.

I can reveal exclusively here that he finished distressed and we have discovered that he has a fibrillating heart, similar to the problem that Denman suffered from.

More about him in Friday's column.

Read Paul Nicholls' exclusive Friday column by visiting http://betting.betfair.com/horse-racing/paul-nicholls/