Kauto Star

Daffodil said:
Now the news that Denman is going hunting and team chasing once his injured tendon has recovered, is a prospect that DOES fill me with concern and alarm.
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Can i ask why? I imagine he will only do so if he is fit and sound following his recovery by someone who is very experienced (according to the article they are). If he doesnt take to it then fair enough but why would you not give him the chance? Both team chasing and hunting are high risk compared with say hacking but we are not talking about anything really dangerous.
 
Miss L Toe said:
If you read Paul Nicholls book he openly recommends his owners treat their horses in a business like manner, however some are exceptional, and will be retained "in the family"
There are few individual people who can pay out an infinite amount of money for an infinite length of time.
Most owners know that there has to be a sensible degree of management.
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The horse won over 2 million, that pays for his retirement surely !!
 
God I would sell my soul to have one day hunting Denman. What a horse.
I think PN should be credited with knowing Kauto a lot better than we "arm chair" critics and I read that as "we'll see how he comes back after the summer". A year ago I would have said this time this year Kauto should have been retired and Denman would have been romping the GC. Didn't happen - Kauto looked a different horse and the Tank was rightly retired.
Let's see what the autumn brings where Kauto is concerned.
 
There is also the fact that there is a BRAND NEW Cheltenham Gold Cup winner! A surprise winner, the first as a trainer for Jonjo, the first Grade 1 Group 1 Chase winner for the sire Sadler's Wells. It would be incredibly bad form for Kauto's retirement to be announced now. It would be called sour grapes/wanting to hog the limelight/jealousy. It would produce alot of emnity in the top tiers of National Hunt Racing. There has been more than enough talk of him already. Look at the number of threads on here about it! And yet not one on the brilliance of Synchronised! He won last years Welsh Grand National in a total bog! He has just WON the Gold Cup! He now goes for the double in the Grand National. You never know, he is still plenty young enough and may go on to greater things than even Kauto Star!

Forget about Kauto Star for the time being. He is away to enjoy his holidays. If he comes back as good as ever then bring it on! But if he doesn't then I am sure the right decision will be made at the right time.
 
EKW said:
There is also the fact that there is a BRAND NEW Cheltenham Gold Cup winner! A surprise winner, the first as a trainer for Jonjo, the first Grade 1 Group 1 Chase winner for the sire Sadler's Wells. It would be incredibly bad form for Kauto's retirement to be announced now. It would be called sour grapes/wanting to hog the limelight/jealousy. It would produce alot of emnity in the top tiers of National Hunt Racing. There has been more than enough talk of him already. Look at the number of threads on here about it! And yet not one on the brilliance of Synchronised! He won last years Welsh Grand National in a total bog! He has just WON the Gold Cup! He now goes for the double in the Grand National. You never know, he is still plenty young enough and may go on to greater things than even Kauto Star!

Forget about Kauto Star for the time being. He is away to enjoy his holidays. If he comes back as good as ever then bring it on! But if he doesn't then I am sure the right decision will be made at the right time.
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Correct, if Synchronised won the grand national he will be amongst very few horses which have done both, would be quite amazing.
p.s LR had a good day at carlisle on sunday :)
 
amymay said:
I think people have an opinion (educated or not), and do not want to see the horses racing days ending with him towed away in an ambulance or meat wagon.

The horse has nothing to prove - so let him retire now.

Imagine the fun he can have (along with Denman) team chasing and hunting......

Going to the well once to often usually ends in disaster.
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I totally agree, I'd love to see him go hunting, team chasing or even eventing.
 
I kind of knew we wasnt going to be seeing the last of him when they interviewed CS after the race.

I think he needs retiring, they should have done it on a high after the King George at Kempton IMO but hey-ho, not sure what they are wanting to achieve really??
 
Dobiegirl said:
Paul Nicholls had stated that the horse never seemed right last season and was now back to his best. I feel sure if he hadnt had that schooling fall he would have given a good account of his self in the Gold Cup.

All Paul Nicholls is saying is to wait and see when he comes back into training and see how he is, he will never run in the Gold Cup again but Im sure they are hoping to find a race for him to go out on a high.

I know Clive Smith said he didnt want anything to happen to him like Best Mate but IMO what happened to BM was a fluke which could have happened anywhere at anytime. We all know a heart attack can happen at anytime as the current news about that young footballer proves.
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I think the comment about Kauto Star never seeming right last year is said in hindsight - it was certainly never suggested until after he came out and won this season. If they had felt that at the time then keeping the horse in training for an extra 6 weeks, after being at peak fitness and having a very hard race in the Gold Cup, to make the long journey to Punchestown was not their finest decision.
Maybe Clive Smith's comment about Best Mate didn't come out as he meant it but it sounded very disrespectful to his connections. You are absolutely right that it was a fluke which could have happened at any time. For a start he was only 10 years old. He had run very sparingly (in spite of much criticism that he was wrapped in cotton wool including from one P.Nicholls) and nobody had felt he was nearing retirement. He looked a picture in the paddock before that fateful race at Exeter and had given no indication of being anything other than in excellent condition. It can be hard to find a race to go out on a high especially with a horse that has passed his peak.

Mithras said:
I think he would have won what was quite a weak Cheltenham Gold Cup if he had not tweaked somethinng in that training fall. I am sure the horse would love to be roughed off for the summer and come back into training for even half a season next year.
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Judging by the time of the race, it didn't look such a weak Gold Cup. It was the only race that day that was quicker than the standard time. It was run at an even gallop and you are possibly doing Syncronized and The Giant Bolster a disservice by saying they are substandard. I am not sure their connections would agree.

Miss L Toe said:
Unfortunately disaster strikes when least expected, and is unpredictable.
Team chasing has a poor safety record, and is not as controlled as UK Jumps Racing.
One day, out hunting with The Bedale three horse died by 2.00pm.
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This is true. Accidents can happen anywhere and team chasing takes quite a toll on horses - it is just not so public. Ground can be less well prepared and fences have less regulation and not all chasers adapt to jumping upright rails etc. Neither Denman nor Kauto Star are always the most straight-forward to ride so their retirements need careful thought.
 
Phoebe said:
I am really disappointed to read this. After the GC Clive said he was 90% certain to retire him and it would take someone with a very good reason not to persuade him otherwise... and now this. It feels to me of Nicholls clinging onto this horse when he has done his bit and could have a career doing something else and be a fantastic ambassador for Racehorse retraining/careers after racing. Think of the publicity he would generate.

Instead Nicholls seems intent on pushing him. If he ends up like Best Mate then on his head be it.
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Fully agree with this. On Friday Clive Smith said 90% he would be retired but looks like PN is trying to convince him not to when KS belongs to Clive S, NOT PN so at the end of the day its Clives descision not PN'S.

I can see them wanting another Betfair and King George. I just hope it doesnt go the same way as Best Mate etc (CS even said this so why go back on it?)

Its not like he has to stand in a field there are so many things he could be doing- look at horses like Denman/ Kicking King etc who have all won major races yet have new careers.
 
I have heard different... a friend of my family who has rehomed several retired top level event horses was offered Kauto star which has lead us to believe he IS being retired! Unfortunatly she has too many at the min so has turned him down. She is mad!
 
georgie0 said:
I have heard different... a friend of my family who has rehomed several retired top level event horses was offered Kauto star which has lead us to believe he IS being retired! Unfortunatly she has too many at the min so has turned him down. She is mad!
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Really???? You'd make room for Kauto Star, surely?!!! ;)


Unless Kauto had run a desperate race in the Gold Cup, I would of been very surprised for them to announce retirement now


You only had to observe the emotion shown by both PN and CS after the King George win on Boxing Day to see how much that horse is idolised by both trainer and owner. I think talk of financial gain is pretty harsh. As others have pointed out, we don't know the horse do we? I for one am comfortable that trainer and owner can be relied upon to do right by KS

For me, his run in the Betfair was absolutely breathtaking - don't think I've ever seen him jump better. And the 5th King George - amazing (cried like a baby) :o

Sure, he doesn't owe anyone anything but if he's fit and well after a summer break and showing the signs he has this season, why on earth wouldn't you go for a 6th King George?? He is a racehorse after all .... and a bloody good one :)

Fantastic to see Jonjo/JP/AP team win the Gold Cup and what a lovely, lovely horse Synchronised is (Jonjo seems to speak very fondly of him). But the headlines were always going to be grabbed by Kauto .... and I'm sorry, I don't have a problem with that! He is a true great and I'm pretty sure I won't see his like again in my lifetime so happy to celebrate him while we have him :)
 
minesadouble said:
Totally agree. It seems strange that so many people on this forum will applaud a horse for tackling Badminton at the age of 18 but happily call Kauto Star's connections worse than s*** for taking him racing at 12. OK he may no longer be quite the force he was in his younger days but he is still a top class chaser who has beaten some top class horses this season. By all accounts he loves his racing and if he comes back next season in good form I see no reason he shouldn't be raced provided his heart is still in it.
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Couldn't agree more. PN said in an interview that he was fed up of people that don't even know the horse clamouring for his retirement but as he says, why the hell do you retire something that is at the top of his game and relishing it like he does? Those first few fences he was pinging them, a jaded horse wouldn't have done that. As long as the horse is bouncing he should be able to carry on with what he loves; when he's had enough PN will listen to him.
 
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when a horse is retired in a field with other horses it is doing what it did when it was born .....be in a herd, interact with others , use their natural instincts........they are horses not humans.
 
pastel said:
when a horse is retired in a field with other horses it is doing what it did when it was born .....be in a herd, interact with others , use their natural instincts........they are horses not humans.
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Not always.

However, there is no question that Kauto would go on to do another job..
 
As far as I was aware the anouncment of his retirement was only going to be made if he won, not because it changes if he will retire or not. But because it would be unfair to take publicity from the winner by anouncing the retirement of kauto star.

I'm sure the decision to retire him or run him next year will be carefully considered by those that know him and there will be great publicity either way.
 
I don't think it has anything to do with Syncronized - that's done now and people are looking to the National, Scottish National, Punchestown and the trainer's championship. Actually now would be quite a good time if they want to announce it as it is the lull before the next storm, but I don't believe they want to commit themselves. I think P. Nicholls wants to get him back in and fit to see if he shows anything before deciding.
 
AdorableAlice said:
The horse won over 2 million, that pays for his retirement surely !!
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Yes of course, winnings of £2million will pay for the retirement of Kauto, however the cost and income streams have to be spread over maybe a hundred horses [we are talking long term ownership on a big scale], some of which would not wipe their faces, that is why I am saying there has to be a degree of money management, else every owner would end up with a debt the size of Greece, or the UK!
Anyway the point is that he is probably going to lead some sort of working life, so the "Keeper of Kauto" will pick up the bills.
 
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