Awesome Kauto set for more glory

KING GEORGE VI CHASE:KAUTO STAR'S position as one of the greatest steeplechasers the sport has ever seen was confirmed yesterday when the respected ratings compilers Timeform raised his provisional mark to 191 as a result of his exceptional success in the King George VI Chase on St Stephen's Day, while Phil Smith, the British Horseracing Authority's official handicapper, went further still with a mark of 195.

Ruby Walsh, meanwhile, who has more direct experience of Kauto Star than any handicapper can enjoy, suggested that even Saturday’s brilliance may not be a full measure of the chaser’s talent.

“Ratings are only people’s opinions,” Walsh said yesterday, “but it was an amazing performance, he did it very well and it’s great to be riding him. I’m sure he could [get better]. He doesn’t seem to be showing any sign of waning, anyway.”

Walsh’s assessment raises the possibility that Kauto Star could yet progress beyond even his new official rating of 195, which is the highest mark allotted to any chaser for at least 40 years, and places him 8lb ahead of Desert Orchid, the only other horse to have won the King George Chase four times.

“I went back and looked at [King George fourth-placed] Nacarat’s run at Aintree when he finished third [in the Melling Chase],” Smith said yesterday, “and I felt he ran a similar race to that. He was rated 157 after that, which meant that Barbers Shop ran to 159, and a process of adding got me to 195. It’s the biggest rating I’ve ever given to any horse, but then it was a pretty amazing performance. It was the way he ran away from the field.”

The strong pace set by Nacarat on Saturday was important in terms of Kauto Star’s rating, as it stretched the rest of the field and allowed the winner to show the depth of his superiority.

“Good horses were getting absolutely exhausted, but he wasn’t,” Smith said. “You’ve got to have a fast pace to get a rating like that. At his best, [the three-time Gold Cup winner] Best Mate was only rated 175, and I know he was better than that, but because of the way his races were run he never had the opportunity to show that he could perform better than that.”

Timeform’s assessment of Kauto Star is a little more modest, although their revised rating still places him joint third with Mill House in Timeform’s all-time list, behind only Arkle (212) and Flyingbolt (210). All three were active in the mid-1960s, at a time before jumpers were subject to a centralised handicapping system.

Paul Nicholls reported yesterday that Kauto Star had emerged from the King George in excellent form, and he will now begin the build-up to his third, decisive meeting with Denman in the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival on March 19th.

“We just led him out this morning for a pick of grass and he’s absolutely right as rain, just fine,” Nicholls said.

“We won’t do anything different now, straight to Cheltenham then next season either to Down Royal or Haydock [in November] and then back to Kempton [for the King George] again.”

The Result

3.05 WILLIAM HILL KING GEORGE VI CHASE (Grade 1)3m £114,020.

KAUTO STARb g Village Star – Kauto Relka (Mr Clive D Smith) 9 11 10 Ruby Walsh (8-13 Fav) 1

Madison Du Berlaisb g Indian River – Anais Du Berlais (Roger Stanley and Yvonne Reynolds Ii) 8 11 10 T Scudamore (10-1) 2

Barbers Shopb g Saddlers' Hall – Close Harmony (Queen Elizabeth) 7 11 10 B J Geraghty (14-1) 3

Also:13-2 Imperial Commander (8 11 10 P J Brennan) 5th, 17-2 Deep Purple (8 11 10 Paul Moloney) pulled up, 25-1 Albertas Run (8 11 10 A P McCoy) 6th, 25-1 Nacarat (8 11 10 S Thomas) 4th, 25-1 Tartak (6 11 10 Denis O'Regan), 33-1 Master Medic (8 11 10 R Walford) pulled up, 40-1 Our Vic (11 11 10 T J Murphy), 100-1 Ollie Magern (11 11 10 T Molloy), 100-1 Racing Demon (9 11 10 G Lee) pulled up, 200-1 Sandymac (9 11 3 A Glassonbury) 13 ran. Dist, 1l, 3½l, 23l, 5l, 2½l, 17l, 1l, 8l. (P F Nicholls). Tote: £1.60; £1.10, £2.70, £3.20 Tote Exacta: £7.40. CSF: £7.33. Tote Trifecta: £71.90.

- Guardian Service