We've had several multiple winners of the Betfair Chase and David Ord recalls the era of the great Kauto Star.
A Plus Tard produced one of the more memorable performances in the history of the Betfair Chase last season, which is no mean achievement given the race’s pedigree.
Silvianco Conti snared two renewals in 2012 and 2014, Cue Card and Bristol De Mai three apiece.
The wonderful grey is back on Saturday to try and reclaim a crown he last wore in 2020. At his peak and in deep ground at Haydock, it was hard to believe there was a staying chaser around who could lay a glove on him.
There was with Kauto Star. He might have been the best we’ve seen post-Arkle but he was in deep waters. Stablemate Denman, Imperial Commander and eventually the younger legs of Long Run were around to test his mettle.
He wasn’t infallible. If you took short odds at one stage of his career you were behind the sofa as he careered towards the final fence. He fell in a Champion Chase and unseated rider in a Gold Cup, lost the chasing blue riband to Denman, only to become the first horse in history to regain it.
Off the canvas and ready to swing again, that was our Kauto Star – and nobody packed a punch quite like his on the good days.
There were four in the Betfair Chase – a run that was a perfect microcosm of his career in general.
He was only six in 2006 when he won his first, producing a scintillating display to leave crack Irish chaser Beef Or Salmon legless in second. A 17-length demolition of such a rival marked him out a special talent.
He was actually a further length-and-a-half clear of that horse 12 months on after an exhibition round of jumping under Sam Thomas. But this was no lap of honour, it got desperate after the last as Exotic Dancer threatened more than once to overhaul him on the grind to the line.
In the end Kauto Star had half-a-length in hand.
And then came the only Betfair blip. Sent off at 2/5 in 2008, he was too long at the third last and had a devil of a job to get past Tamarinbleu going to the final fence. It wasn’t clear how much petrol was left in the tank at that stage but as he slithered on landing and parted company with his pilot, it became immaterial.
But this is Kauto Star, a month later he was back on song as he swept Albertas Run and company aside to win the King George. No cotton wool here.
His 2009 Haydock triumph will live long in the memory. Imperial Commander threw everything his way in a ding-dong duel up the straight and in the final few strides it looked like he might have taken his measure. It went to a photo and the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained star traded favourite on the exchange to get the verdict.
Ruby Walsh and Kauto Star headed back down the chute – no waiting for a lap of honour this time – and then the judge called out his number.
Imperial Commander’s jockey Paddy Brennan was fighting back tears, members of the NTD camp were desperate for a view of the print as the judge no doubt locked the door just in case. But Kauto Star had somehow held on.
Imperial Commander did get his hands on the prize in 2010 with his rival re-routed to Down Royal. He wasn’t at his best in Northern Ireland despite winning and when subsequent defeats in the King George and Gold Cup were followed by the now 11-year-old pulling up at Punchestown in April, it looked like the curtain was coming down on his career.
But Nicholls wasn’t having the retirement talk – and neither was Kauto Star. Because the following autumn he was back and raised the roof – and spirits – on a day that will never fade.
He somehow produced his best performance since the 2009 King George, dismantling his rivals from the front. From the third last it looked on, and the crowd knew it. When Long Run failed to produce exactly that from the last fence, the jubilant celebrations began.
This was perhaps Nicholls’ finest training achievement, which to be fair is some accolade, and the trainer ran the final 50 yards almost as quickly as his star chaser to celebrate with Walsh. The doubters on this day were silenced.
Remarkably, Kauto Star was to go to Kempton for one final hurrah and win a fifth King George before bowing out at Cheltenham after pulling up in the Gold Cup.
It’s little wonder there are statues to the true racing great at both Haydock and Kempton and it’s testament to what A Plus Tard achieved last season that he was capable of even drawing comparisons with the king who came before.
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