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1st of November 2005 is a day i remember quite well, I was off work for the week so took myself off to Worcester for their final meeting of the year, I had been in June for a Haydock Annual Members reciprocal and actually quite liked the place as i saw low grade summer jumping inbetween catching the action of Royal Ascot at York.
The Worcester card that day in November was average but it was also Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter and everybody watching that race was keen to see the return of Best Mate who had to miss the 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup through injury.
Sadly it was the ill fated day that Best Mate collapsed and died on his return never to race again which was won by that old rogue albeit 8yo at the time Monkerhostin, back in second that day was a 5yo ex French horse now in the care of Paul Nicholls called Kauto Star only having his third start in this country, It was to be the only time that Kauto and Best Mate ran in the same race, yet as Best Mate sadly departed it was like the hand over of the Olympic flag at the closing ceremony as one Legacy of a brilliant Three Mile Chaser came to an end it was passed on to the new kid on the block.
Kauto went on to win the Tingle Creek before his fall in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the 2006 festival, I very much doubt at the time that people watching would think that twelve months on he would be back going up in trip by Ten furlongs and winning the new Betfair Million and thus becoming the horse that everybody ended up loving.
In his career i saw Kauto on course a total of Six times, i sadly missed his Lancashire Chase win in 2007 due to being laid up at home with a mixture of tonsillitis and a cold which hammered me for six, but i saw a mixture of highs and lows in the times i saw him.
The lows were the fall at Haydock behind Snoopy Loopy which was the start of Sam Thomas having the worst few weeks of his career which also included falls from Gwanako in the following days Grand Sefton Chase at Aintree when poor Sam landing in the Chair then Big Buck’s in the following weeks Hennessy yet that was probably the best thing he could have done given what happened next!!
For me the biggest of all highs was last year at Haydock, now normally when i go racing i am normally quiet and reserved during a race even when the horse which carries my £2 is passing in first place, when i was Ascot for Frankel i cheered in the joys of seeing a champion racehorse for the last time yet it was not the same as Haydock last year when seeing the wonderful Kauto battle on up the run in to reclaim his crown as King of Haydock Park in getting his fourth Lancashire Chase.
Like many i cheered seeing this might warrior under Ruby Walsh and at one point i almost began to cry and who could blame me, thankfully one of my friends with me watching was female so she happily stepped in and we both hugged at being witness to what this amazing sport can do to you at times.
So as Kauto Star begins his well earned retirement no doubt people will be doing the usual comparing him to the likes of Arkle,Desert Orchid and Mill House as always happens but this is pointless as racing has evolved so much over the years.
As myself and many other racing fans will reminisce about Kauto and his battles with his sadly much missed foe Exotic Dancer who was sadly taken from us much to early and the battles with Denman in the Gold Cups the best way to look upon it by me is in the words of Dr Seuss the famous American writer and cartoonist which is this.
"Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened."
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