Visually an absolutely fantastic horse to watch when on song never more so on his first champion chase win ( spectacular performance which will stay with me for years and lesser so last year @ Aintree ) but the fact that ruby won't even entertain riding him instead of an 11 yo kauto tells a massive story , watching all his races over 2m4 I'm convinced that's his limit in terms of stamina and there's no way he will be able to get away from the true 3 milers enough to hang on for victory so I can't see him winning and would lay his chances to a considerable amount .I believe he's too slow now for 2m but stamina not there for much more , French breds tend to peak early and I think he's past his best , on the king George kauto last year couldn't have ran much worse and still was in with a chance when crashing into the 2 nd last and still finished 3rd on his by far favourite track if he is 100% then he will test long run
NTD.......Ruby Walsh has not said he is not riding Master Minded as of yet, the only thing I heard, was that he was unsure which horse he would be riding. I realy don't see how you can trust Ruby Walsh's opinion anyways if he does go for Kauto Star, 4 times he has opted for Kauto Star over Denman, and on 3 of those occasions Denman has had the measure of his stablemate. So I wouldn't take a blind bit of notice of Ruby Walsh. He clearly has a soft spot for Kauto Star, and would probably choose him over Pegasus. Some jockeys are like that. You claim French horse's peak early in there careers hinting that MM is past his best, then you make a positive comment about Kauto Stars chances, a French bred horse, who is 3 years older than MM, I don't realy understand how breeding can be against the 8yo MM, yet it isn't against the 11yo KS
Ruby might be biased toward Kauto Star, but it's easy to see why. He one of the all time greats. He's seen the horse do things that only a great can do. Champions can pull out performances that seem to defy logic. We all wanted him to win the Betfair, but few of us gave him the better chance against Long Run. He did him by eight lengths. According to Wiki, from 18 G1 races in the UK he's finished on his feet 15 times for 14 wins and a second. Trust Ruby, you betcha!
Forgive me being somewhat trivial but Wiki is very much wrong in this case. He was second in 2008 GC and third in the 2011 GC so 15 completes and 14 wins and 1 second doesn't add up! I'm not knocking the great horse I'm highlighting how inaccurate Wiki can be!
Kauto Star has run in 22 Grade 1s and completed 18 of them (2F, 1U and 1P) Of the 18 completed he has won 15, came 2nd once and finished 3rd twice. The wiki article may be out of date
At the end of the day, if Kauto goes, then Ruby will definitely ride - just think how he would feel if Darly Jacob won a fifth King George on Kauto Star - the possibility of that, regardm riding to less of the relative likelihood of the horse winning, means that Ruby would never let anyone else ride Kauto Star, regardless of who the competition is. To be frank though, I really don't think that this damages Master Mindeds chances that much (but I do think it improves Kauto's). I think Master Minded has clearly done a lot of work with Jacob, so I don't see him struggling as a result - Master Minded at him best doesn't seem to need particularly complex rides.
Oddog.....well he came 2nd to Deman in the 2008 Gold Cup, and 2nd to Our Vic at Aintree in the bowl, so that's two 2nds, and then he was 3rd to Long Run twice last season. He was also 2nd to Monets Garden in the Old Roan, though that was a handicap
The Old Roan and the Bowl are G2s. Kauto Star's record at G1 level is: 05 Tingle Creek - 1st 06 Champion Chase - Fell 06 Betfair Chase - 1st 06 Tingle Creek - 1st 06 King George - 1st 07 Gold Cup - 1st 07 Betfair Chase - 1st 07 King George - 1st 08 Ascot Chase - 1st 08 Gold Cup - 2nd 08 Champion Chase (Down Royal) - 1st 08 Betfair Chase - UR 08 King George - 1st 09 Gold Cup - 1st 09 Betfair Chase - 1st 09 King George - 1st 10 Gold Cup - Fell 10 Champion Chase (Down Royal) - 1st 10 (run in 2011) King George - 3rd 11 Gold Cup - 3rd 11 Guinness Gold Cup - PU 11 Betfair Chase - 1st 22 races of which 18 were completed: 15 wins, one 2nd, two 3rds.
Kauto Star is confirmed to run in the King George after Paul Nicholls said he recovered very well from the Betfair Chase and he believes he should take advantage of the fact he is in form rather than simply wait for the Gold Cup. Beginning to shape up like a hot race!
http://www.racingpost.com/news/hors...for-king-george-with-walsh-aboard/961365/top/ KAUTO STAR has been confirmed to bid for his fifth William Hill King George VIChase at Kempton on December 26, which sets up a Christmas cracker between himself, Long Run and dual Champion Chase-winner Master Minded. The 11-year-old Kauto Star will be ridden by Ruby Walsh while Daryl Jacobwill partner stablemate Master Minded after riding him to victory at Ascot last time. Kauto Star bounced back to his best at Haydock on his latest start when he slammed last year's King George winner Long Run by eight lengths in the Betfair Chase. William Hill rate Long Run as their 6-4 favourite, while Kauto Star is 4-1 second-favourite ahead of Master Minded at 5-1. Victor Chandler reacted positively to the confirmation of Walsh's booking and trimmed Kauto Star to 4-1 (from 9-2). Trainer Paul Nicholls said: "When they're fit and well you've got to take your chance. "He recovered really well after Haydock. They'll both run, which is what we want to do. "Ruby isn't going to get off Kauto Star, and Daryl will be aboard Master Minded. Long Run will probably come on for the run, but he's still got eight lengths to find." Kauto Star landed his fourth consecutive King George in 2009 and Smith, who also owns Master Minded, said he would not begrudge him another victory in the Grade 1 contest. "Master Minded has been aimed for the race, but it was a great performance from Kauto three weeks ago," said Smith. "If he showed any sign that he wasn't right, we wouldn't be running him. I don't mind who wins, but perhaps I've a slight preference for Kauto."
Toppy, another fine article which has prompted an interesting debate. I look forward to the next one greatly any hint on who might feature!? . If possible and others agree, I'd really love to see perhaps a couple of the more open looking Cheltenham races go under the spotlight perhaps a few weeks before the festival, particularly where the leading contenders haven't opposed one another. For example, assuming we've had a decent look at Spirit Son and Zarkandar by late Jan the Champion Hurdle as a race could go 'under the spotlight' and we could discuss whether we think either of those two, plus Grandouet (and anyone else) can challenge the fly and who we think the most likely challenger is!
Thanks George. Im desperate to put forward Zarkandar and Spirit Son but neither have reappeared so it is hard to go on just their novice season. Binocular failed again on reappearance, whilst Grandouet still needs to find a little bit more for my money. It has been frustrating because like you, I am keen to discuss the Fly's challengers. Next episode is a difficult call- I may hold until the Boxing Day- as that would allow a reflection on either/both the King George and Christmas Hurdle.
That would be himself then. Nothing beats him on the track I know we've had a good chat about Quito de la Roque, TFR and Master Minded so the staying chasers have been discussed but what about considering Rubi Light as a possible Spotlight horse? You could not fail to be impressed by him at the weekend. The danger is that if you wait until Christmas time there's going to be about half a dozen performances vying for a Spotlight thread! Just a thought, I'm more than happy whatever you decide. It's all been topclass discussion thus far TopClass!
Oddy: Is this Dipper thing the 2m5f Cheltenham Novices Chase event? If so, where can I find the entries? Please let me know and I, in turn, will let you know if there's any destroying to be done by Invictus..........................
No entries yet Swanny, but Alan King pinpointed the race as his next target. Problem is, with Choc injured Hutchinson may be on board Mind you, Walkon may also be going for the same race
I can't remeber the last time i agreed with so much of what king Shergar said. I like Master Minded a lot but really do not see him managing 3 miles - however as a 2 miler he was amazing - VPU was still a very good horse indeed when he got routed in the 2008 Champion Chase. Long Run looks a very, very good horse indeed. He'll definitely come on for the run and Henderson;s record in the st stephen's Day meet at Kempton is unbelievable. That doesn't happen by accident. I won't write off KS as that would be bonkers but I would be confident in backing Long Run to win this.
Really pleased to see some positive bulletins with regards to Captain Chris' participation in the Kempton spectacular - Story. I think he has a fair chance at the very least and would be most disappointed if he didn't make it. If he's there I think he'll be a stonking EW bet. Given that Master Minded won't stay, and nothing else is good enough, it can only be The King, Long Run and Captain Chris filling the first three places. Oh if it were that simple!
