oh Kauto!

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Goya

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I am feeling so sad. I didn't think he ran to his best at all today. He didn't seem to be jumping as fluently or travelling as the Kauto we know and love.
I hope he is OK. Maybe he is missing Ruby.
I thought AP gave him a super ride and what a feat to stay on after that mistake.
Congratulations to the Waley-Cohens and Long Run but you met Kauto on an off day imo.
 
Yeah, I agree with Ruby Walsh that Kauto wasn't himself today but that's racing! Long Run was a fabulous winner and I was chuffed to bits with Nacarats run.
 
NMF,

is it just me, or is there something about the best of the grey horses?

Nacarat? a brilliant run. Desert Orchid, Monet's Garden, and I'm sure that there are more. Honest, dependable, reliable horses, with heart. There aren't enough!!

All credit to Long Run, his owners and jockey. A very well deserved win.

Alec.
 
Very sad that Kauto didn't win today. It wasn't his best performance by far.

Agree with Paul Nicholls - he owes nothing to anyone - he's done so much.
 
Paul Nicholls has said that Kauto had a small bleed after the king george, and will head off now for the cheltenham gold cup.
 
Alec Swan said:
NMF,

is it just me, or is there something about the best of the grey horses?

Nacarat? a brilliant run. Desert Orchid, Monet's Garden, and I'm sure that there are more. Honest, dependable, reliable horses, with heart. There aren't enough!!

All credit to Long Run, his owners and jockey. A very well deserved win.

Alec.
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Well I'm with you there Alec!
 
I have the feeling that I will be jumped on but I always have nagging doubts when a horse runs like Kauto did especially in a big race yet goes to post at 7/4 on.

Big races rarely have my money in them for this very reason. Well done to Sam W-C, one of the better jockeys who's steered a good few winners for me.
 
TarrSteps said:
As above, yes they are. They're on strings so they don't get lost and the jockey can "pull" them at any point during the race, most likely coming into the run in to give the horse a little extra "kick".
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In the UK if a horse runs with ear plugs in then they have to either stay in or be pulled out before the start. Some horses get upset by the noise in the preliminaries but once they have they're work to concentrate on, then they relax and are ok. Certainly Long Run looked to relax into a rhythm in the race which helped his jumping and conserved energy.
 
oldvic said:
In the UK if a horse runs with ear plugs in then they have to either stay in or be pulled out before the start. Some horses get upset by the noise in the preliminaries but once they have they're work to concentrate on, then they relax and are ok. Certainly Long Run looked to relax into a rhythm in the race which helped his jumping and conserved energy.
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Yes def cannot be pulled out in racing! You could lose the race if you did do it! Not surprised to hear Kauto burst...he seemed to hit the wall and was well beaten by the time they turned for home
 
With the news that Kauto bled after the race I do so hope it isn't history going to repeat itself. We will all remember that Best Mate bled in the race before he collapsed and died. Perhaps the circumstances are different I sincerely hope so for all involved.
 
Best Mate did not bleed in the race before he died, he bled in his last gallop before the Gold Cup the previous season and there had been no recurrence in his training that autumn. Any horse can have a heart attack so it is best not to scaremonger and speculate on why he died.
KS's bleed could easily be a one off for any number of reasons so we will just have to hope that that is the case. His lad said he was very quiet in his box that morning which is not normal so fingers crossed that he gets over whatever it is quickly so he can carry on racing for as long as he enjoys it.
 
He should be retired now. Forget the Gold Cup. The King George field was not a stellar one, and he was struggling for most of it. The Gold Cup will have the likes of Imperial Commander, Time for Rupert and Long Run, horses half Kauto's age, and the ground could well be worse there than at Kempton.

If anything happened to Kauto in March the damage to how racing is perceived will be immense. This lovely horse deserves an honourable retirement from a job at which he has excelled for so many years.

He would make a fantastic ambassador for Racehorse to Riding Horse (Moscow Flyer has done it in Ireland).

I pray that neither Paul Nicholls nor Clive Smith are becoming greedy.
 
Apparently they are wanting to go for a 3rd win at Down Royal next season so it doesn't look like he is going to retire yet. With a lot of good luck on his side and some bad luck on the others winning at Cheltenham isn't entirely beyond the realms of possibility but to me Kauto has not had the wow factor since the 2009 King George so, sad as it is, the time has come to seriously consider his retirement. I just hope that if he isn't spot on at Cheltenham Ruby pulls him up before something terrible happens.
 
Watching the race again, AP was asking for some very long shots to the fences where Kauto made mistakes, he was always trying to put another stride in and got to deep, also he is now 11 and long run a mere youngster at 6. :)
 
Time to retire now I think. He's been the most fantastic racehorse since Arkle and I think it will be a long time before another horse is as prolific as he's been over so many different trips. He owes nothing more.
He clearly wasn't at his best on Saturday. KS on form would have smashed that field. It goes to show the measure of the horse that he finished as well as he did. What courage he has.

I'd pay good money to see him in the show ring. Why not re-school him as a riding horse / WH or get him out hunting or eventing.

Definately my favourite horse of all time.
:)
 
KautoStar1 said:
I'd pay good money to see him in the show ring. Why not re-school him as a riding horse / WH or get him out hunting or eventing.
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So would a lot of people I think. I do veteran showing and going back a few years now John Whitaker's old horse Welham turned up at a VHS qualifier. He drew in quite a crowd then. You can only imagine the number of people who would turn up to see Kauto if he was reschooled and entered in a RoR class for example :)
 
Not sure if it was a personality clash between him & AP but he just didnt look happy, he just wasnt the same horse. I said that when he won his race in Ireland though, he didnt win it with ease like we are used to seeing, I think maybe they should back a step, win a high profile-ish race & retire on a high. I think going for a 3rd gold cup is a bad idea, but if he does win it will be equally impressed (& hoping they retire him as well!)
 
I must admit - I hope they retire him too. He has done so much and given so many people so much pleasure.

I remember watching One Man's last race - and his owner saying that all he wanted was for him to come home safely...

Surely it is better to retire a little too early, than too late?
 
olop said:
Not sure if it was a personality clash between him & AP but he just didnt look happy, he just wasnt the same horse. I said that when he won his race in Ireland though, he didnt win it with ease like we are used to seeing, I think maybe they should back a step, win a high profile-ish race & retire on a high. I think going for a 3rd gold cup is a bad idea, but if he does win it will be equally impressed (& hoping they retire him as well!)
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Hmm, see I think I'll probably get slammed for saying it but I will anyway - i am not a big fan of McCoy's riding. Yes no doubt he must be good to have got where he is BUT when i see him ride in races it makes me worry for the horse as he often tends to get overly aggressive riding wise near to the end and seems to upset the stride and jump of the horse. In this race he looked to me to be holding Kauto pretty tight right from the word go and Kauto was not jumping fluidly at all. it was not pretty. He did not seem to look comfortable at all. Maybe it is due to the bleed, maybe he was not feeling 100% but he certainly was not seeming to run as comfortably as he does normally.

Had AP ridden him before? I had a feeling not but my racing knowledge is not that fantastic. I know he has been ridden by someone else other than Ruby and Sam but didn't know who it was.

I hope there is a happy ending to Kauto's career so fingers crossed if he does go for the gold cup it all goes well - although I am team Denman I'm afraid!!! Lol
 
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