Kauto Star

Through the breeding of sire Village Star and dam Kauto Relka, Kauto Star was born in 2000, taking a portion of each horse’s name to make a mix of the two. During the bay gelding’s early years in France, he ran in ten races, picking up four wins, two seconds and two thirds before being bought by Clive D Smith and sent to Manor Farm Stables to be trained by professional horse trainer Paul Nicholls.

The forty-one major race meetings that followed saw a total of twenty-three wins, seven seconds and four thirds, making Kauto Star a worthwhile horse to back to win and to place, as he was capable of finishing each-way in most races that he wasn’t able to win outright. Kauto Star unfortunately injured himself in one of the paddocks at Manor Farm Stables in 2015, leading to his death. It was a sad day for horse racing, with AP McCoy labelling Kauto Star as ‘the most complete chaser of the modern era’.

Going into his first race since moving from France to the UK, Kauto Star won the Western Daily Press Club Novices’ Chase at Newbury, before finishing second in the Weatherbys Bank Novices’ Chase and the William Hill Haldon Gold Cup Chase at Exeter. A win in the Tingle Creek Trophy Chase at Sandown presented some promise but his first entry into Cheltenham Festival saw him failing to finish in the coveted Queen Mother Champion Chase.

A break of 221 days was the right decision for Kauto Star, as it had him returning to a six-race winning streak including in the Cheltenham Gold Cup at Cheltenham Festival and the Old Roan Chase at Aintree. The following attempt at the Old Roan Chase saw his run coming to an end as he was unable to take successive wins in Liverpool, bouncing back with a further three wins on the bounce in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, the Stan James King George VI Chase at Kempton and the Commercial First Ascot Chase.

Returning to Cheltenham Festival once again saw Kauto Star finishing second in the Gold Cup as well as in the Bowl Chase at Aintree. The next eight races saw two runs where he was unable to finish but the remaining six where he took wins in the 2009 Cheltenham Gold Cup, the William Hill King George VI Chase at Kempton, the Betfair Chase at Haydock, and two Champion Chase wins at Down Royal. His final six race meetings resulted as a win in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and the King George VI Chase at Kempton, a place in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and a failure to finish in the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Every professional horse is rated based on their performances at Cheltenham, and Kauto Star had a mixed bag of entries at the racecourse, winning the Gold Cup on more than one occasion but failing to finish in far too many runs. His first came in 2006, where he failed to finish in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, making up for his extreme shortcoming in winning the 2007 Cheltenham Gold Cup. The 2008 Cheltenham Festival then saw Kauto Star finishing at a respectable second in the Gold Cup, before winning the Gold Cup for a second time in 2009.

It was further disappointment in 2010 when he failed to finish in the Gold Cup, but many argued that finishing third in the 2011 edition was reputable, even though he was the favourite in a lot of bookies’ eyes. His last entry into Cheltenham Festival ended up being the last race he would run before his untimely death, where he pulled up early in the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup to rule out yet another win in the prestigious race.