KAUTO STAR MAY have failed in his bid to claim a third Gold Cup and with it a staggering 17th Grade One chase, but the wistful standing ovation he received from the Cheltenham faithful this week can nonetheless be considered a fitting coda to a spectacular career.
It’s a perspective evidently shared by Clive Smith, the horse’s owner.
Speaking with the Guardian’s Greg Wood in the wake of the that final Gold Cup withdrawal, he described himself as “90% sure” Kauto Star would be retired in the near future.
“I’ll take advice, but someone would have to work very hard to persuade me that you’ll see him out again, because I wouldn’t want to see a Best Mate situation or a Dawn Run [both Gold Cup winners who were later killed while racing], I don’t want anything like that.”
Having finished the week on something of a sentimental high, Smith believes further competition unlikely to yield a more satisfying outcome.
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“He’s given me so much pleasure, he’s been a wonderful horse and a great champion. It’s sad that we probably won’t see him on a track again, but he’s in one piece and that’s the main thing.”
If Kauto Star does retire, he’ll do so having accumulated £2,375,883 in prizemoney over a period of seven years, a National Hunt record.
Kauto Star likely to be retired
KAUTO STAR MAY have failed in his bid to claim a third Gold Cup and with it a staggering 17th Grade One chase, but the wistful standing ovation he received from the Cheltenham faithful this week can nonetheless be considered a fitting coda to a spectacular career.
It’s a perspective evidently shared by Clive Smith, the horse’s owner.
Speaking with the Guardian’s Greg Wood in the wake of the that final Gold Cup withdrawal, he described himself as “90% sure” Kauto Star would be retired in the near future.
Having finished the week on something of a sentimental high, Smith believes further competition unlikely to yield a more satisfying outcome.
“He’s given me so much pleasure, he’s been a wonderful horse and a great champion. It’s sad that we probably won’t see him on a track again, but he’s in one piece and that’s the main thing.”
If Kauto Star does retire, he’ll do so having accumulated £2,375,883 in prizemoney over a period of seven years, a National Hunt record.
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Cheltenham Gold Cup End of an era Horse Racing Kauto Star