Kauto Stars First Run of the Season
26th October, 2007
Kauto Star has to be the best chaser currently in training. And the lovable folk up in Liverpool are in for a treat this weekend as the Paul Nicholls - trained champion returns to action some seven months after landing the most prized race in National Hunt racing, the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Aintree’s Old Roan Chase, a Grade 2 event run over the middle distance of 2m 4f, may not seem like the kind of prestigious race in which a champion makes his seasonal reappearance, but Kauto Star did exactly that last year and after he went on to win another five races with a combined value of some £578,000, Nicholls clearly believes this race to be the place to begin another year of potential dominance.
Not that the Star is likely to repeat his majestic 21 length victory of 12 months ago. The race is a handicap, which means he is likely to be giving plenty of weight away to high –class horses such as last year’s Arkle winner My Way de Solzen and Gold Cups second Exotic Dancer – in such a quality field, simply winning the race would be achievement enough.
Across the Atlantic, meanwhile and the flat season ambles towards a climax with the famed Breeders’ Cup meeting at Monmouth Park in the United States on Saturday night. The meeting features eight Grade 1 races, with European hopes resting mainly on the shoulders of superb Arc winner Dylan Thomas in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
