'The days leading up to the race were the most nerve-racking of my career and this added even more pressure - I was furious'

To look at him, you might think butter would not melt in his mouth.

As Ben Pauling applies bandages to The Jukebox Man's front legs, British jump racing's new pin-up stands perfectly still, unruffled and unbothered by the attention. In the packed Kempton winner's enclosure there had been repeated warnings the King George VI Chase hero could and would kick. In the more relaxed surroundings of his Gloucestershire home, there is not the merest hint of naughtiness.

Innocent observers to this winter morning scene would be blissfully unaware the handsome horse in front of them is actually fond of inflicting grievous bodily harm to anyone who dares to come inside his accommodation at Pauling's impressive Naunton Downs base. The charge sheet against him is long. Fortunately, so, too, is the list of achievements on a curriculum vitae now so impressive that Harry Redknapp's pride and joy is vying for Cheltenham Gold Cup favouritism.