- This topic has 44 replies, 34 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 11 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Certainly no surprise that Kauto Star has been retired.
It’s the sensible and pragmatic decision. It would have been awful if Kauto had paid the ultimate penalty and been killed in action for the sake of not knowing when it is time to let discretion be the better part of valour.
Plenty of good horses like Dawn Run, Best Mate and Ekbalco have met tragic ends on the racecourse.
It would also have been very sad to have seen Kauto humiliated at Kempton for the sake of going to the well once too often.
The team deserves credit for its sensible decision, which will probably turn out to have been for the best.
Fantastic horse who left some wonderful memories behind. I will never forget the ‘comeback’ at Haydock. Most said he should be retired but he proved them all wrong.
Happy retirement, champ.
Sixteen Grade 1s over seven seasons, left or right handed, galloping or sharp tracks, from 2m to 3m 2 1/2, the only horse to regain the Gold Cup.
Oh, and five King George wins.We’ve been so lucky to have him, jump racing just won’t seem the same.
Happy retirement Kauto Star.
Come on then, you know you want to…2009 King George (you’ll need widescreen to see the placed horses)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh0BKgmx0VM
Mike
Sad to see him finally bow out but definitely the right decision.
The changing of the guard may have already begun, but it’s also very odd to see the start of a jumps season with no Kauto or Denman knocking about.
Happy retirement Kauto, and also a quick mention to the Tank. Superstars the pair of you.
Quote –
"I can think of races he won and things that happened to me around the same time".
Me too like the Betfair Chase on Saturday 18th November 2006, when I told the wife too crack on with the birth of our son before the race……
Here’s the Kauto Star song sang by Mark Boylan last March.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F_JGvmMYjQ
Blackbeard to conquer the World
Like all great chasers he had that touch of something that I cant find the right words to describe and the heart of a lion – he just loved what he did
I had him down a dodgy jumper but as the years went on my heart was in my mouth more that a few times – few horses can do what he did. It was a privilege to see all those fantastic Gold Cup performances in the flesh – outstanding.
Happy and muddy retirement
I would have loved to have watched Kauto again…and again…and…
He is the only horse, for me, that really stirred the emotions when watching a race over the last few decades… (too young for Aldaniti…but Goldikova was something special.)
The connections know the horse best and they obviously feel Kauto could no longer cope in top company.
The way he came back, when many said he should have been retired, was truly the stuff of legend. I really struggle to believe another horse will win the grade 1’s he has…but ya never know!
In a funny way, the timing is exquisite. Kauto is arguably the best chaser ever. He travelled and won beyond Blighty and won top races over a long career at a variety of trips and tracks.
Now that, Frankel fans, is what makes a
GREAT
horse.
Zip
Truly the end of an era. That horse could jump better than any I’ve ever seen, past or present. I can’t even choose my favorite win, there’s so many of them!
I wonder what they’ll do with him next? The great chasers Easter Hero and Jolly Roger shared a paddock in their retirement, perhaps the two Nicholls horses will do the same?
The best flat performer I have seen stepped into retirement not two weeks ago.
The best racehorse I have seen did likewise today.
Happy retirement, Kauto.
Only two horses have really captured my imagination over NH over the last few years and Kauto Star was one of them (and more recently, the brilliant Sprinter Sacre being the other).
I’m just glad that he has been retired in one piece and can now hopefully enjoy a long, happy life.
Salute the King Kauto
Miss Woodford; could you tell me more about Easter Hero in retirement? He’s a horse I have long been fascinated with, but know very little about. I don’t think he and Denman will be sharing a field, though. I assume Denman is still enjoying his new hunting lifestyle. Although they only say that Kauto will stay at the Nicholls yard for a while I wonder if he will stay there for much longer [years in fact] because he does seem to enjoy his routine there.
Miss Woodford; could you tell me more about Easter Hero in retirement? He’s a horse I have long been fascinated with, but know very little about. I don’t think he and Denman will be sharing a field, though. I assume Denman is still enjoying his new hunting lifestyle. Although they only say that Kauto will stay at the Nicholls yard for a while I wonder if he will stay there for much longer [years in fact] because he does seem to enjoy his routine there.
Easter Hero was owned by John Hay "Jock" Whitney, US Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune and a member of the Whitney family of racehorse owners and breeders (and politicians, statesmen, philanthropists…). He and his sister owned the Greentree Stables, and he raced horses in the US and England. Though born in Ireland, he was sold to a Belgian millionaire, had an unfortunate run in the infamous 1928 Grand National, said Belgian millionaire later mysteriously disappeared during a flight from Belgium to England, and he was bought by Jock Whitney. He would go on to run in and win two Cheltenham Gold Cups, each by over 20 lengths, lost the Grand National by a nose despite twisting a shoe, and finished his career with a record of 21 wins in 40 starts.
In his retirement Easter Hero was hunted in Virginia by Whitney for several years, and then sent to Kentucky to join what was known as the "Gashouse Gang"*. The Gang included Jolly Roger, one of the greatest American steeplechasers of all time; Cherry Pie, leading handicap horse; and Twenty Grand, Kentucky Derby winner (among many many other important races), who was actually retired to stud but proved sterile.
*The original Gashouse Gang was the nickname given to the 1934 World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, who were notorious for their unkempt, shaggy appearance and unwashed uniforms.
Great news! What pleasure he’s given us over the years. He’s the sort of horse that makes jump racing the spectacle it is.
I hope he has a wonderful retirement.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.