The 2010 Cheltenham Festival is less than one week away and here at Racingbase, we can't wait for Kauto Star vs Denman round three.

With the score currently two Gold Cups to one in favour of Kauto Star, he is the favourite to win and retain his third Gold Cup in four years, trading at odds of 4/5 with William Hill, while Denman is a 4/1 shot with the same firm.

Despite the drift on Denman’s price it still looks too close to call and we were not surprised to see the results of a recent poll in Ditcheat, the hometown of Paul Nicholls and the two Gold Cup superstars.

When quizzed about who will come out on top next Friday, the 747 inhabitants of the small village voted that Denman was the more likely to win his second Gold Cup – by a extraordinary 1%!

With 51% of the people backing Denman to defy his 4/1 odds and with 49% of the locals siding with odds-on favourite Kauto Star, they too believe it is too close to call.

Simon D'Offay, landlord of the only pub in the village, the Manor House Inn, joked: "There's a real division amongst my regulars but I'm in the Denman camp.

"Whatever happens, I'm sure we'll all celebrate over a few pints!"

Meanwhile, it is Kauto Star that continues to come out in front when it comes to the sale of merchandise.

A number of different items are available to purchase ahead of next week’s Gold Cup battle and Rebecca Morgan, commercial and operations manager at Cheltenham, said: "In total, we will have sold over 6,000 scarves, the equivalent of almost 10% of the likely Gold Cup day crowd of 67,000, celebrating the colours of Kauto Star and Denman.

"The split on overall sales at the moment is 60% in favour of Kauto Star products and 40% for Denman products, although it fluctuates week by week.

"The last time we did anything of this sort was during the Best Mate era, but the response to Denman and Kauto Star has been massive compared to then.

"We are delighted that racing fans want to show their support loud and proud, and are grateful to Paul Nicholls and the owners for their support and enthusiasm about what we are doing to promote the rivalry between the two horses."

William Hill are best-odds about Kauto Star (4/5) and Denman (4/1) and are also offering new customers a free £25 bet on the race.  Simply sign up using bonus code F25 and claim your free bet.

THE 2010 CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP - William Hill's 'War Of The Wolds'