On the one hand it’s a time of sadness as we’ll never again get to see Kauto’s big white face emerge over a fence, but at the same time we have some great memories of his exploits and he can go out a true champion.
Kauto Star’s rise to National Hunt superstardom had almost a direct correlation with my interest in Horse Racing really developing and for that reason he has always held a special place in my heart.
His Boxing Day romps round Kempton in the King George VI Chase became more of a tradition for my family than Christmas lunch itself and the endless joy this horse brought to so many people is a feat rarely seen in Racing.
Kauto’s legend was cemented many years ago but in 2011 he ensured that his name would go down in infamy by bouncing back from the brink of retirement to win a fourth Betfair Chase and an astounding fifth King George, prompting scenes at the Parks of Haydock and Kempton that had to be seen to be believed.
Kauto Star has left a lasting impression on Horse Racing and he’s going to be a nigh-on impossible act to follow, his achievements and exploits will live long in the memory for some time to come though.
Below are, what in my opinion are, Kauto Star’s five greatest races; not necessarily his five greatest performances, because one of the things people loved about Kauto was that he was fallible and had an uncanny ability to bounce back from adversity, but the top five races that left us all with goose bumps as King Kauto thrilled us as he only he could.
The doubters said he wouldn’t stay having stepped up to 3 miles that season having been running, and winning, over 2 miles the previous year but he proved them all wrong with a by no means astounding performance but a dominant performance that proved him one of the best for many a year.
Held up in the early part of the race, once Ruby Walsh asked him to go he travelled smoothly to the front and never looked back, other than when he clattered the last fence in what had become somewhat of a trademark last fence blunder in the earlier part of his career.
Kauto finished 2 ½ lengths of his great rival from the early part of his career Exotic Dancer and in doing so wrote his name in to the history books, and he’d continue to grace those pages for the five years that followed.
Denman himself had been through the ringer somewhat in the build-up to the race, looking a shadow of the horse that had broken Kauto’s heart twelve months earlier when returning earlier in the year after being treated for a defibrillating heart.
The great rematch was on at Cheltenham though even if not quite as hotly anticipated as a year earlier. Kauto was well backed to make history by losing then regaining the Gold Cup and he duly obliged the market support by running 13 lengths clear of The Tank who ran a stormer to finish second.
At the top of the famous Cheltenham hill when Kauto and Denman kicked clear of the rest of the field it would have taken a heart of stone not to feel butterflies as the two greatest chasers of the last decade returned to their best following their own individual battles with adversity.
It was a great race, a great day and a great outcome featuring two all time greats of the game.
WATCH - Cheltenham Gold Cup 2009
That all changed with his Betfair Chase win in November though (more on that in a minute) and he arrived for his annual pilgrimage to Kempton for the King George surrounded by the very real possibility that there may still be one more Christmas miracle in him yet.
Not everyone was convinced though and the young pretender to his throne Long Run, the very same horse who had instigated the retirement calls following his victories over Kauto the previous season was sent off the even money favourite.
The 3/1 starting price on Kauto looked a gift though as he once again jumped round his second home with aplomb and had Long Run looking troubled a long way out.
Kauto started to tire on the long straight and Long Run was gaining with every desperate stride but in the end the King held on by just over a length to register a never likely to be emulated fifth victory in the race.
Kempton had been jubilant for a Kauto Star Boxing Day victory before but this was something else entirely and brought a tear to many an eye, myself included.
WATCH - King George VI Chase 2011
Not only did he equal Desert Orchid’s four wins in the race with his 2009 romp but the 36 lengths he won by beat the previous winning distance set by the great Arkle by six whole lengths, once again sending Surrey in to euphoria.
He jumped like a stag throughout the race and travelled with the greatest of ease; the roar that went up as he cantered up alongside the game front-running Nacarat on the turn for home never fails to send a shiver down the spine and as you see that in behind him good horses are practically treading water while Kauto gallops on it makes you realise just how scintillating a performance this was.
By far the most impressive of his many wins, this performance earned him ratings with many bodies that put him atop or not far off the top of lists of their all-time greats.
WATCH - King George VI Chase 2009
Something evidenced by the fact he was allowed to go off at 6/1, the longest ever price he began at in the UK. On the back of his poor 2010/11 season few could have imagined the effort he would deliver to land his fourth Betfair Chase and in doing so become the first horse to win two different Grade 1 races on four separate occasions.
Kauto jumped like a horse in the prime of his career, not one coming to the end of it, and he had the young pretender Long Run in trouble a long way from home. Going from the front earlier was a new tactic and brought with it bountiful rewards as he beat Long Run by 8 lengths.
He tired near the end but he was the last horse asked any sort of question as his young foes toiled in behind him and as he crossed the line in front yet again the North West erupted in to ecstasy.
The scenes that followed were straight out of Hollywood, he’d been applauded on his way down and on his way round but the rapturous applause that greeted the greatest steeplechaser of my lifetime, maybe any lifetime, was out of this world.
It wasn’t his most prestigious win or his best performance but it was without a doubt his most emotional, and that afternoon last November is one I will remember forever.
WATCH - Betfair Chase 2011
Share Your Kauto Star memories – what are your favourite Kauto races?
Previously: Top 5 Denman Races
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