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horse racing kempton – Can Kauto Star Confirm His Place in Jump Racing’s History Books?
The simple answer to the question, can Kauto Star confirm his place in Jump Racing’s history books is yes, of course he can, he is by far and away the best chaser in the land and quite probably the best since the great Arkle and Flyingbolt era. And 2010 could be the year that he cements his place in the Hall of Fame of the greatest ever Racehorses.
With three King George Chases in the bag already and two Gold Cups, Kauto Star is already achieving more than any other at Grade One level already and at nine years old he probably still has two years outstanding in the tank. Perhaps the questions should be ‘will he win the King George and Gold Cup a further three times?’
Since falling in the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2006 in a race won by Newmill, Kauto has won thirteen from seventeen starts, he finished second in three others and only failed to finish when famously or infamously unseating Sam Thomas from the saddle at the last in the 2008 Betfair Chase ay Haydock – a race which he has already won again for the third time in November 2009.
His consistency and ability is quite unbelievable and of those horses who have beaten him in those seventeen races, all have been subsequently beaten, including his stable mate and still possibly his greatest rival, Denman.
Twelve of those seventeen victories have been at Grade One and they have earned him a Rating of 186, only Denman and Master Minded of the current top crop of chasers have come close. Further wins in the King George and Gold Cup will improve this still further.
Should Kauto not win the two races in question, then a secondary question should be who could deprive him? As far as the King George is concerned, it almost seems impossible for any to do so unless he falls or unseats his brilliant jockey, Ruby Walsh. In the 2008 race he finished 8 lengths clear of his nearest rival, Albertas Run, who was a further ½ length clear of Voy Por Ustedes. The rest were a further 23 lengths, 8 lengths and 32 lengths behind, all toiling in the wake of Kauto Star, whose invincibility at Kempton was underlined and it is why he is currently favourite to win yet again.
Yes it is true that Imperial Commander ran him very close in this year’s Betfair Chase, with Kauto only getting up by the smallest possible margin. However, that was Kauto’s seasonal reappearance and he will come on leaps and bounds for the run. It should be remembered that Imperial Commander finished over 60 lengths behind Kauto in the 2008 King George and despite his obvious improvement he surely would not be able to find that much at Kempton.
Currently Kauto is also the favourite to win a third Cheltenham Gold Cup, a race he won in 2009 and 2007. Denman, who of course defeated him in the 2008 renewal but then suffered a cardiac setback, is likely to oppose again but he will have needed to have fully recovered and improved hugely should he wish to emulate his 2007 success.
Kauto Star certainly has the ability to win both the King George and Cheltenham Gold Cup for a fourth and third time respectively. He will go down as the greatest chaser in modern times, taking the crown from the legendary Desert Orchid and he will still have two, possibly three years to take the even bigger crown of Arkle himself and become the greatest ever!
Read James Smith’s preview of the Cheltenham Gold Cup and all the latest news and previews in the lead up to the 2010 Cheltenham Festival on his personal website.
Kauto Star expected to become 1st to win 4 straight at King George VI Chase – Yahoo! Canada News
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Fri Dec 25, 12:33 PM
By The Associated Press
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KEMPTON – Kauto Star has already equalled the three straight wins of legendary grey Desert Orchid in the King George VI Chase and is a firm favourite with British bookmakers to go one better Saturday.
He is rated an 8-13 shot, making him an even stronger favourite than last year, and trainer Paul Nicholls is expecting rather than hoping for a record fourth title in a row at the 4.8-kilometre (3-mile) jump race.
Kauto Star is jump racing’s highest-ever rated horse and officials at Kempton racecourse have already printed No. 4 cards for spectators to wave in honour of the 9-year-old horse.
“Kauto is in great form,” Nicholls said. “It is all systems go and there really are no excuses.
“He has been in training a long time. He looks better and is sharper and I couldn’t be happier with him at the moment.”
Kauto Star won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March by 13 lengths from the Nicholls-trained Denman but was run close in his first race this season before edging Imperial Commander in a photo finish at Haydock last month.
Imperial Commander is rated a 6-1 second favourite at Kempton, and Nicholls said his horse has improved sufficiently since then to prevent such a close race this time.
“He looks great and has come on a ton since Haydock,” Nicholls said. “The idea was that race was always going to mentally sharpen him up.”
Kauto Star beat Albertas Run by eight lengths last year to match Desert Orchid’s 1988-90 streak in the 72-year-old race. Desert Orchid, which also won in 1986, is the only horse to have won four times.
Victory on Saturday would make Nicholls the most successful King George VI Chase trainer. He also won with See More Business in 1997 and ‘99.
Madison Du Berlais, the winner of last year’s 3.3-mile (5.3-kilometre) Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, is a 10-1 shot and third favourite.
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