Speed of the essence in explosive duel of champions

Stand them nose to nose in the middle of a field and Moscow Flyer and Azertyuiop would probably just give each other a sniff and go their separate ways. Not for them the Vegas-style pre-fight press conference, with cash and testosterone thickening the air.

Yet in other ways their third meeting on a racecourse, in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown this afternoon, will have all the trappings of a prize fight - not a heavyweight bout, perhaps, more like a meeting of two top light-middles, who are strong and tough but nimble and quick to the punch too. Over two miles, the minimum trip for a steeplechase, it should be explosive. One mistake, a single instant when a guard is dropped, could be enough to end the contest or even put someone on the floor.

Never mind that there are five other horses in the race. When they limber up in the paddock and then walk out on to the course, most of the spectators will have eyes only for one or the other. To date the score between the best two-milers in training, one from Britain and the other from Ireland, stands at one win apiece. Who knows, in the uncertain world of jumping this could be the last time they meet, a decider for the undisputed championship.

Two-milers are a special breed in jumping, robbed by their pedigree of a chance to win a Gold Cup or Grand National but blessed instead with an abundance of pace and the ability to clear fences at high speed without pause for thought.

They are always individuals, too, and today's rivals are no exception. Azertyuiop is as dependable and honest as they come, a horse who will never let you down. Moscow Flyer, though, is more of a chancer and is not guaranteed to get round. Back him and you have bought a ticket for the roller coaster.

As a result, racing fans throughout Britain and Ireland will divide into two camps today, and not necessarily on patriotic lines. There will be backers for England's Azertyuiop in the betting shops of Dublin, just as Moscow Flyer, from Ireland, will have supporters in Devon and Doncaster. It is rare to find a race at this level that splits the punters so neatly and on this difference of opinion at least £1m will change hands this afternoon.

"Some people will back Cenkos each way because he loves it around Sandown and they might get a result with Moscow Flyer falling or unseating," David Hood, of the race sponsors William Hill, said yesterday. "But I'd expect the top two to account for 70% of the bets on the race. So, if the turnover industry-wide is about £2m, you could have £1.4m riding on one or the other."

The form book offers powerful evidence for both points of view. In the first meeting between the two, in this race last year, Moscow Flyer beat Azertyuiop by four lengths and, indeed, has never been beaten in a chase he has finished.

But Paul Nicholls, Azertyuiop's trainer, insisted afterwards that his runner had been short of peak fitness as a result of an early fall in his first race of the season. When the pair met again in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham, Azertyuiop took advantage when Moscow Flyer lost his jockey four fences out; he swaggered up the hill to win by nine lengths.

Even the people who are paid to judge the merits of racehorses with complete objectivity cannot decide which of the two is superior. Phil Smith, the British Horseracing Board's chase handicapper, currently rates Azertyuiop on 177 and Moscow Flyer on 174, which is another way of saying that in today's race at level weights, Azertyuiop should finish three lengths ahead of his great rival.

However, as Smith points out, "it doesn't necessarily mean that Azertyuiop will win on Saturday, it just means that Azertyuiop has won a competitive race since the Champion Chase and Moscow Flyer has not. They were rated the same on 174 at the end of last season and, when they raced against each other in last year's Tingle Creek and both finished, Moscow Flyer won. The question is whether the Azertyuiop that ran in that race is the same one that won at Cheltenham."

At the much respected Timeform organisation in Halifax, however, they beg to differ. "Moscow Flyer was our top-rated chaser last season and still is, based on their running at Sandown last year," Jim McGrath, Timeform's managing director, says. "In our annual we rated Moscow Flyer on 183, with Azertyuiop on 182, and Best Mate [winner of the last three Gold Cups at Cheltenham] 6lb behind on 176.

"Because of Best Mate's pulling power, the two-milers have had to live a little bit in his shadow, so people tend to forget just how strong the two-mile category is at the moment. A good horse like Isio is still well over a stone behind the top two, and so is Well Chief."

With so little to choose between the main contenders, the men in the saddle could also have a vital role to play and here is another level on which today's race works so well. Ruby Walsh, who rides Azertyuiop, and Barry Geraghty, on Moscow Flyer, are arguably the two finest big-race jockeys in the weighing room.

Both are supreme natural horsemen but they also possess the cunning and intuition that can make all the difference at the highest level. Each will be aware of the other at all times, ready to exploit the slightest mistake and turn it to his own advantage.

Brilliant horses, clever jockeys and arguments backed up by serious money: from top to bottom today's Tingle Creek is a prospect to move even the granite heart of a bookmaker.

"I've always adored the speed horses," Hood said yesterday. "There is something about the two-mile operators at the very highest level that really captures the imagination."

From the very first strides to the quick rat-a-tat of the three railway fences on the far side, then on past the pond and up the stiff final hill, every round of today's race will matter. But, when the weigh-in sounds and the money is paid out, we can only hope that, in the grand boxing tradition, we will be able to look forward to the rematch.