WITH the Cheltenham Festival now 6 days away, the Sun Racing team will be bringing you their ‘Festival 50’ every day between now and 10 March.
We will salute the Prestbury Park heroes that made us fall in love with the Festival, all the way until the ‘Cheltenham roar’ signals that the wait is finally over.
Number 6: Kauto Star
There is an argument that Kauto Star is the greatest chaser to ever set foot on a racecourse. And a strong one at that.
A sublime mix of pace, power and prowess, Paul Nicholls’ super Star had it all.
But, despite his brilliance, he was never really in love with Cheltenham – it was pure ability that saw him win a brace of Gold Cups.
His first taste of Festival action ended abruptly at the third fence in the 2006 Champion Chase as he took a crashing fall as the 2-1 favourite.
But he returned the following year with a facile King George win under his belt and was sent off the well-punted 5-4 favourite for the Gold Cup.
Many doubted he would get home up the hill, but he was irresistible under Ruby Walsh, who bided his time and produced Kauto with a withering run after the last to beat the classy Exotic Dancer.
If there was any doubt that this horse was different gear, there was absolutely no doubt now.
The following year saw the first instalment of a captivating rivalry with his stablemate Denman. Two great horses with contrasting styles; Kauto floated through his races before delivering a swift killer blow while Denman would pulverise his rivals from the outset.
And it was Denman, under an aggressive front-running ride, who came out on top in 2008, but Kauto, who made several mistakes on the way round, lost absolutely nothing in defeat.
No horse had lost their Gold Cup crown and regained it the following year – but Kauto Star broke all historical precedent in 2009.
He was imperious and got one over on Denman, who had endured a troubled campaign, to level the score at 1-1 in there personal head-to-head.
But it was perhaps the fact that Kauto raced on the edge (he had several falls or near misses in his career) that really endeared him to racing fans.
And his risky jumping style was his undoing in 2010 as he took a pearler under Ruby Walsh as Imperial Commander stunned the masses who had turned out expecting a box office clash between Nicholls’ brilliant duo.
The overriding emotion was one of relief to see Walsh riding the horse back down the track.
But the following year it was one of pride as he turned in a terrific performance in a Gold Cup for the ages.
He jumped the last upsides his old mucker Denman and the young pretender Long Run, and it was the latter who saw it out best up the hill. The two old boys were roared back into the winners’ enclosure in what was surely a glorious swansong…
But Kauto staged a resurgence in 2011-12, sparking incredible celebrations with victories at Haydock and Kempton and he was firmly in the Gold Cup picture in the lead-up to the Festival.
However, a fall in the schooling ring in the days before the big race put his participation in doubt.
He was given the green light to run at the 11th hour, but he was never really travelling and was pulled up with just over a circuit to go by Walsh.
Reminiscing about the spontaneous applause and cheers that broke out around Cheltenham as the legendary chaser was eased out of the race and into retirement still make the hairs on the back of the neck stand up.
It was a mixture of appreciation and relief that the old warrior was bowing out in one piece. Plenty of tears were shed.
No horse is perfect, but Kauto Star was bloody close.
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