Kauto-Hennessy Gold Cup??

just in case he goes t1ts up early in ireland i think or henn cuts up

Mind you,be interesting if he did run!!

If he has no intention of running,its bizarre.If he intends running its still bizarre.

I hope he does run.

So that people can see the difference between a staying chaser who can carry weight, and Kauto is just about a 3 miler.

If he does run you can forget about the King George. No way he will run. Just to make headlines.

2 miler?,i rather think i meant 3!!

It's a ' aliens might fly to kempton and burn the turf with the light from their high powered space craft beams thus rendering the track unrunable' entry.

Assuming the weight range is still 11:10 top to 10.00 bottom, Kauto star would carry 11.10, Denam would carry 11:2 and the rest would be out of the handicap by 2lbs and upwards. It would mean that a horse as good as Diamond Harry for example would be required to race from a stone out of the handicap.

Of course in Arkle's days he had to lump 12:7, like the day he won at the unrewarding odds of 1/5 on favourite; but Kauto wining the hennessy of 192 by say 20 lengths would definitely mean he was a horse to be rated as being the first since Arkle's days of being over 200. That would be quite some achievement.

However, Kauto running in the hennessy is a very interesting idea. He would only have to run to his very best to carry the weight and win, since aside from Denman, the others would be really struggling as, at the weights they would have to improve very significantly to beat Kauto. I hope he does run myself. We would then have something to really compare with Arkle as a horse.

If I was a cynic, I would worry a bit that Kauto stays in the race until its too late for the weights to rise. This would really give Denman a marvellous chance, running off only 11:2 against horses out of the handicap, and most with almost no chance whatsoever of winning. however I 'm sure PN would not manipulate the weights of the race like that. Or would he??

Kauto was given an entry in the race three years ago, all the theories were banded about then that he'd be withdrawn on the morning so that Denman would be running with most (maybe all) other runners being out of the handicap

Three years later we are faced with the same scenario, and 100% guaranteed to get the same result.

To answer buddeliea's question of 20:17, nobody gets any benefit, whatsoever. An absolutely pointless entry

I seem to recall all the successful years were splattered with a few failures here and there.

Kauto should go for the hennessy. he would actually have a tremendous chance in the race.

However I am, like you, pretty sure he won't run there.

Yes the idea that Kauto Star doesn't get a trip is a bit silly. You just don't win the Gold cup by failing to stay and stay very well.
Kauto has been a bit fussy at times though. His trainer says that he needs much time between races as a reason for explaining some of the horse's reversals, in the likes of the Betfair gold Cup etc. He has been prone to the odd jumping  error too, like in last year's gold cup, which seemed to go down the drain after a major early blunder. I think that's what makes him quite likeable though. When he gets everything right, he is the best since Arkle.

That's why I would love to see him win the Hennessy off a mark of 190. I reckon you get a really true rating when a horse wins the big handicap conceding weight. He's so much better than the other chasers around at his best (Imperial and Denman excepted) that its hard to rate him when he slaughters inferior animals at level weights. a bit like Framnkel killing Klammer by miles. We know that he was very good when he did that but now Klammer has gone and won the horris hill how good might that have been?

If he canters in in Northern Ireland, they will presumably have a sit down and decide. Entering him is an option. I think Newbury really ought to suit him very well, the trip would be just about ideal, and he really would leave some fancied horses miles out of the weights.

oh id love to see it.

FFT you are right, but unfortunately its too close to the Gold Cup

Imo ideal for Kauto is 3m round Kempton carrying same weight as his rivals.Whilst i think Kauto would be capable of running well in a Hennessey,i dont think course and distance and giving lumps of weight would be his ideal race.

i would not dismiss him lightly myself.horse oozes class and that can often prove crucial when they start to age.

Get them both at their best at Newbury, on the softish ground which usually prevails at that time and even at level weights I would absolutely hammer into Denman.

I absolutely love Kauto, but I doubt he'd beat Denman at levels round Newbury, never mind giving him 8 lbs. Like Budd, I can't understand the entry at all. Why pay to enter the horse in a race there is absolutely no chance he'll run in?

Just been reading the article about Kauto Star with Clive Smith

"There is a little proviso (in heading straight to Kempton after Down Royal) in that we would like to have a crack maybe at the Hennessy, just as it might be his last season, and see how he goes," Smith went on.

"We want to race him four times probably, or maybe five, but obviously always aiming at the King George and the Gold Cup. We'd still like to show he could do it in a big handicap, so we might go to the Hennessy, or we might not. It just depends on this Saturday really.

Suddenly the 20/1 on betfair looks big..

Looks like Newbury tickets will be selling fast for the race of the decade!