Kauto Star 07/08

[brockguy]

oooh, greatness awaits if he can give that much weight and win.. from racingpost:

PAUL NICHOLLS saidon Wednesday it would take an “amazing performance” from Kauto Star if the Gold Cup winner is to repeat last year's win in the Old Roan Chase at Aintree in 17 days' time.

Kauto Star raced off 167 when running out an impressive winner of the limited handicap 12 months ago, but will run off 179 a fortnight on Sunday, and, according to Nicholls it will require a “colossal effort” to succeed off such a lofty mark.

Nicholls said: “I know Monet's Garden is an intended runner, and I heard last weekend that Alan King is considering the race for My Way De Solzen. If they both run, Kauto Star will be on 11st10lb, while that pair will be on bottom weight of 10st4lb. But they are top class in their own right, so it'll be an amazing performance if Kauto can winit again.”

Britain's outstanding chaser went through last season undefeated in his six starts, including four at Grade 1 level, but Nicholls added: “We've got to accept that one day he is going to get beaten, but at those weights in the Old Roan defeat would hardly be a disgrace. He could get beaten by My Way De Solzen, or Monet's Garden, or both of them, and yet still put up a blinding performance, and he would then spend the rest of the season meeting those horses at levels.”

Nicholls said the Aintree race “fitted in perfectly” with Kauto Star's programme, as he said he will leave “a good bit to work on” between his reappearance and the Gold Cup hero's first major objective, the Betfair Lancashire Chase at Haydock on November 24.

In a departure from last season's programme, he revealed: “If we want to win the King George again, we'll have to give the Tingle Creek a miss this year. Last winter there were 24 days between the two races, this time there are only 18. If he attempted the Betfair, Tingle Creek and King George again, that would mean three Grade 1s in the space of the month and that wouldn't be fair.”
Nicholls' commendably bold policy, in asking Kauto Star to compete in a handicap first time out off such a high mark, contrasts starkly with the easier path taken by most modern-day Gold Cup winners, who were not faced with such a stern test.

The BHA's senior handicapper Phil Smith said on Wednesday: “The prospect of seeing Kauto Star attempt to win off 179 in a handicap is very exciting. If he is successful, and the horses he beats are not out of the weights, his rating could go into the 180s. My records don't go back far enough, so while I hesitate to say what Kauto Star is doing is unprecedented, it certainly hasn't happened in my time.”

Kauto Star's owner Clive Smith is under no illusions about the enormity of the task, and he said on Wednesday: “I have to accept this is the day when he could get beaten, but I won't be losing any sleep over it, and my hair won't get any greyer if his unbeaten run comes to an end. As always, the important thing is that he comes back safe.”

Smith added: “I went down to Ditcheat the other Saturday morning and he looks marvellous. Clifford Baker says by looking at him he seems to have improved again from last season, and Paul and his team have done a wonderful job keeping him sound and well.

“This season we are setting out on a different journey with the horse. Last year we were asking: can he stay three miles, and then can he stay three and a quarter? Now we know he can do it all there's not quite so much pressure on. But every time he runs I keep my fingers firmly crossed he's okay at the end of it.”

KAUTO'S CAMPAIGN PLAN

October 28Bonusprint.com Old Roan Chase Aintree G2 hcap 2m4f

November 24Betfair Chase Haydock Park G1 3m

December 26Stan James King George VI Chase G1 3m

March 14Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup G1 3m 2 1/2f

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Its going to be so interesting to see how Kauto gets on this season.. Is there further improvement in him. French breds usually peak quite early but he was hardly tested at all last year to really know his level.. Giving huge lumps of weight to serious rivals envokes images of the "good old days". Plus the fact that he is liable to just plough through an odd fence or two (and usually the last one!) makes him so fascinating to watch..