Irish Racing / Editor / 27 December 2007 / 1 Comments Free £25 Bet

But Denman remains the odds-on favourite...

Before the final declaration stage at 10am on Thursday, Denman was the [1.44] favourite on Betfair to win the Lexus.

The Listener is his nearest rival in the betting at [6.0] and it is [24.0] bar that pair, which brings in Beef Or Salmon.

After Kauto Star's demolition job on a high-class King George field at Kempton yesterday, surely now only stablemate Denman stands between the Gold Cup winner and a second Betfair Million bonus for owner Clive Smith (£700,000), trainer Paul Nicholls (£100,000), the jockeys (£33,333 for each leg of the Million) and the stable staff (£100.000).

But The Listener may prove a sterner Lexus rival than Betfair odds of 5-1 imply (he was backed at a market-low of [3.0] when Denman was on the drift), and Timeform certainly believe the grey shouldn't be underestimated.

Spokesman Kieran Packman observed: "The Listener put up a top-class performance in thrashing a smart field in the John Durkan last time out and gave us the impression he is going to prove as hard to beat in top conditions races in Ireland as Beef Or Salmon did at his peak.

"He is sure to give Denman a stern examination in the Lexus, a race the Listener won in good style last season.

"Robert Alner's eight-year-old jumped superbly at Punchestown and earned a rating of 173, which leaves him just 3lb shy of the figure Denman returned in the Hennessy, when he confirmed himself as an outstanding chaser.

"Certainly, it is a race to relish but I think it's fair to say that we would have expected the pair to be a lot closer in the Betfair market, based on ratings."

Betfair spokesman Tony Calvin added: "If we are going to pay out the Betfair Million again, it may as well be to a horse of Kauto Star's magnificence.

"But another impressive Denman win would at least give us some hope!"

Tags: Denman, The Listener