Kauto Star rises to the ultimate challenge

Cheltenham: Have no doubt about it. In time, young race fans will talk about the 2007 Cheltenham Gold Cup and ask if Kauto Star really was that good.

And anyone present to watch him secure steeplechasing's blue-riband yesterday will only have to nod and remind them of Kauto Star's nickname before he even had his first ever race in his native France: "L'Extraterreste".

There really does appear to be something not of this world about a young champion who already looks to deserve mention alongside some of those mythical names that have powered up the famous Cheltenham hill in the past.

But the intriguing idea of Kauto Star getting even better can't be ruled out either. We are, after all, talking about a seven-year-old. If conventional wisdom suggests chasers only reach their peak at nine or 10, then the youngsters of the future might have to deal with a deluge of dates.

Of course, the threat of injury that hangs around jumping horses might yet rear its malevolent head to stop those sorts of day-dreams coming through. But even if the worst happens, Kauto Star has already done enough to have earned a spot on the pantheon: more than enough.

Yesterday's Gold Cup, along with Haydock's Betfair Cup in November and the King George at Christmas, completed a triple crown of top prizes that yielded a £1 million bonus for Kauto Star's owner, Clive Smith.

But if that wasn't sufficient to rate his ability, let's not forget this exceptional raw talent also picked up Sandown's Tingle Creek Chase in December over two miles, and in the process made Wednesday's Champion Chase winner, Voy Por Ustedes, look almost ordinary.

Everyone knew going in yesterday that Kauto Star was the most talented horse in the Gold Cup field, but no bonus in the world was worth more than him going out and proving it.

That he did so was due in no small measure to the man on his back. Ruby Walsh had finished runner-up twice before in the prize he covets more than any other. His desire to win every race has helped him become in many people's eyes the supreme practitioner of his hugely demanding job. But having the pent-up expectation of a whole sport on his shoulders as well must have created stratospheric levels of pressure.

Not that anyone could have known, though. Settled at the back, and on the rail, for much of the race, Walsh calmly guided Kauto Star through the field without missing a beat. Coming down the hill, there were too many horses still in contention to continue scraping the paint, and so he eased to the outside.

"As soon as I did it, I saw AP (McCoy) get a run up my inside and I thought 'Jesus, what have I done', but then he pinged the second last and away we went," said Walsh.

Kauto Star being Kauto Star, there was the by now the almost obligatory panicky moment at the last fence but, once over it, he powered to a two-and a-half length defeat of McCoy's mount Exotic Dancer, with the 40 to 1 shot Turpin Green in third.

"He's a superstar," Walsh said simply afterwards. "It's a privilege to be associated with him. This is great for me and Paul (Nicholls) and everyone in the team, but it's also great for racing. Everybody wants to see a great horse and this creates a buzz for everyone."

It did that, and trainer Nicholls, usually calmness personified on a racecourse, struggled to contain what must have been the overwhelming satisfaction of a job well done.

Kauto Star's jumping had dominated much of the build-up to the race, but Nicholls said: "Everyone goes on about these mistakes but basically he is a very sound jumper. Perhaps he panics a little bit in front, but he never looked like falling. Maybe now you'll all believe he is a superstar.

"I cannot tell you how nerve-racking the last month has been. Everyone's had their doubts and I have never in my time in racing heard so much rubbish talked about a horse. But it takes an exceptional horse to win a Tingle Creek, King George and Gold Cup in the same season and Kauto Star is exceptional."

Kauto Star started a 5 to 4 favourite yesterday but shook the bookmakers so much that he is already as low as 7 to 4 for next year's Gold Cup, where his main danger could be Denman, the horse that lives next door to him in the Nicholls stable who trotted up in Wednesday's SunAlliance.

Now that will be a date to remember.