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Little doubt in my mind that hes the best since Dessie. And how good to see him campaigned so bravely too…
He looked like he could go round again at the end
Glad to see him win, even though I would have bet against him. Racing needs heros! <br>Winner of the Gold Cup, a massive bonus and the Order of Merit as well.
Shame that the final fence shot that Channel 4 insisted on replaying was no where near as pleasing on the eye as War of Attritions effort last year (or Taranis this years), it didn’t do him much credit, he seemed to jump very well most of the way, undulating ground and stiff fences or not!<br>
I didnt think he was that impressive today but considering everything was against him (ground, big fences, undulating track, big field etc) it was a tremendous performance. I dont think it should be rated to highly just for the sake of it given how close some of the others got but his true superiority is shown in his Haydock and Kempton wins….awesome animal.
Aiden, what ground do you think is ideal for Kauto Star? Times suggest today the ground was good which probably to my mind suited Kauto Star more so than Exotic Dancer who is probably slghtly better on soft / heavy ground.
Think he is better with cut in the ground, like at Haydock but I take your point…he seems to go on most. But you can see my point, if you were to design a race that you would imagine would not suit you would pick the Gold Cup type race. I think it showed it did not suit him as he was not overly impressive in comparison to his demolition of the same bunch at Haydock and Kempton. But its to his credit today that he won so well as he did.
Yep, Danny, joint top-weight of 11-12 with Hedgehunter on a rating of 158 (which he’s clearly operating some way in excess of now).
With the Gold Cup and Grand National an almost unheard of 29 days apart this year, I reckon we’re going to see a hell of a lot more Cheltenham runners reappear at the Aintree meeting than is usually the case. God only knows if Jonjo and Sir Bob will be tempted, but the horse is still available at best price 25-1 if you lot are.
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Quote: from Aidan on 8:14 pm on Mar. 16, 2007[br]Think he is better with cut in the ground, like at Haydock but I take your point…he seems to go on most. But you can see my point, if you were to design a race that you would imagine would not suit you would pick the Gold Cup type race. I think it showed it did not suit him as he was not overly impressive in comparison to his demolition of the same bunch at Haydock and Kempton. But its to his credit today that he won so well as he did.<br>
<br>I wouldn’t disagree with what you say. I think Kauto Star would be vulnerable in a Gold Cup on soft / heavy ground. I’d fancy Exotic Dancer to turn the tables in more favourable conditions (on current form) given a good gallop.
I wouldnt
I think we have still to see improvement from KS (hes all of seven remember) and as much as i like Exotic Dancer, KS has shown a will to fight (newbury) which i would expect to repel him
I am still a bit suprised about these doubts about KS’s stamina. No doubt in my mind after that Haydock performance and he jhardly looked tired today too…
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Aidan
Kauto Star’s demolition job at Haydock was on similar ground to today’s.<br>I think the difference today owed much to the extra 2.5f on a stiffer track, rather than the ground.<br>KS travelled well within himself and barely touched a twig until his stride started to shorten coming into the final fence, and though his class saw him through, he wasn’t going away from ED at any stage after.<br>Just my opinion, but the horse would be vulnerable in any Gold Cup run on softer ground, as the trip seems at the absolute limit of his stamina.<br>
Was wondering to all you Kauto Star followers; what price would you give me that Exotic Dancer will beat Kauto Star next year in the Gold cup?
I would guess that Denman or My Way De Solzen are more likely to beat KS next year than Exotic Dancer.
Not a vintage Goild Cup in terms of strength in depth, as has already been alluded to but a tip-top winner that confirmed what I’ve been saying, he;s one of the best chasers of the last 20 years
While I generally like to question horses like this (and I’ve yet to study the Gold Cup result), Kauto Star appears to be something really special. Not sure whether it’s the horse or the jockey that has a slight lapse at the final fence in these races but, that aside, a really good performance.
Already strikes me as a better horse than Best Mate, to whom I never really took. It’ll be very interesting to see how he’s placed next season by Paul Nicholls.
Exotic Dancer is tough horse – maybe there’s better to come, too?
Overall, good fun race!
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if once, just once, all the top staying chasers would turn up at Cheltenham at the top of their form for the Gold Cup.
Too many were missing this time, as usual, with War Of Attrition, Kicking King, In Compliance and Star De Mohaison among them.
Fabulous performance from Kauto Star, who looked different class when he swept past everything else. I don’t think Exotic Dancer will ever beat him.
What impresses me about Kauto is his ability to dominate at every distance, with two Tingle Creeks in the bag. Reminds me very much of Desert Orchid. He’s yet to achieve the legendary grey’s longevity, of course, which is another measure of greatness.
Isn’t it wonderful to see a top-class chaser campaigned aggressively, though, which didn’t happen with Best Mate, unfortunately.
Nicholls has already said Kauto will have the one race as a target next season (the Gold Cup), plus a third Tingle Creek, which I’m guessing will leave the way clear for Denman in the Betfair Chase and the like.
Denman against Kauto on soft ground at next year’s Festival, now there’s a race to look forward to.
Fantastic horse, and great scenes afterwards. Owners like Clive Smith do absolute wonders for racing. Seems like a lovely chap and great piece on him in yesterdays Guardian.
One question though, why did Ruby slow him down coming to the last fence? Strange..
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