Kauto Star RIP

Exactly pp - if the RSCPA etc get their teeth into all the figures of horses that die in fields jumping around of their own accord enjoying themselves they'll soon be banning it!

Was it an empty field ?

Who says it was an empty field Howard and wtf difference does it make?

without question the best staying steeple chaser I have ever seen and that includes the likes off wayward lad and burrough hill lad.so many great days so many magnificent performances my favourite would have to be the 2011 king George what a horse and superbly handled throughout his incredibly long career this is the arkle of my time in racing.

thank you kauto star so sad you never got the long retirement you deserved

Well if he jumped a few poles it wouldn't have happened in an empty field

BHL was different class as a staying chaser.

howard - what point are you trying to make?

Bad form from connections not even telling Nicholls until a minute before press release. Apparently had a week since the accident and Nicholls said he would have liked to have said farewell.

bhl?

This horse had a Heart of a Lion! Sensational Steeple jumper! one of the best IMO!

One senses, from the outside, that CS and PFN deserve each other.

Sad when it happens to any horse. Kauto just highlights how brittle these incredible creatures are. Marvellous memories of a true warrior. Comparisons are not necessary. Great horses are just that. Great. Even lesser lights are loved by many. This fellow is right up there with the best.

jesus what a shame

15 years ? gutted

In an era where the word legend is often used more times than its worth Kauto Star was truly such a one. Such a shame he never got a long and well earned retirement but as has already been said on here thanks for the memories of which there were so many - a true gret

He were grand old boy, kauto

So many memories
I think ant bromley(the guy who looks like viz magazine 'student grant') went over to France to purchase Garde Champetre for Smith
Got outbid by JP McManus rep (frank berry?)
so bromley came back with the next best
which happened to be Kauto Star
How their paths crossed since..ho ho

As with Arkle, another memory of Kauto will be the handicapper doing his nuts over him
Kauto won the King George in 09 by a huge distance
he was only beating horses he had beaten before but Phil Smith decided this victory meant Kauto had to be given the highest rating since Mill house I think, Official rating of 191
This has led to an awful lot of horses being given stratospheric ratings. No wonder trainers moan so much.
It was the form for years for the Gold Cup winner not to be given a rating much above 170
Best Mate got 175 i think
To think Bobs Worth and Silviniaco Conti have been rated 180 and 177 indicates to me that the handicapper has got himself a little confused

Anyway, the haydock chase in 2011, the comeback win at the enormous price of 6/1 wasnt it?
Showed the old boy still had it
magnificent scenes
and Ruby rode a blinder

tweet

Laura Collett
@CollettEventing


Devastated to announce Kauto Star sustained injury in the field, with his best interest at heart a decision was made to put him to sleep

Very sad news but horse had a great life and will always be remembered.

parispike ,

I don't know the circumstances. But sometimes there is human slackness involved with horses. You seem to deny this is ever possible.

Gutted to hear this news. He will live long in my memory

On 5 live now

sad news

A true great RIP.

Very sad news. Gave me my biggest win when I had £2000 on in the 1st of his gold cup wins. Was **** myself when it came to the last! Rip old boy horse of a lifetime

Will never forget the roar of the crowd when he jumped the last in the Betfair at Haydock.

Howard - you have no evidence , as you yourself concede, and I did not say or infer what you assert. Logic is clearly not your strong suit.

Howard is right - how dare there be anything in the field for the horses to jump - it's an accident waiting to happen and horses should by law not have anything in the field that they can jump and thus injure themselves - tress and bushes included. They should all have landscaping to be as flat as can be and if not then Howard is on the case.........

I think it is very disappointing that Smith/Collett only let Nicholls know just before they told the press. Even if they had not repaired the relationship with Nicholls it would have been the right thing to do for Clifford Baker.
Smith should thank his lucky stars that Nicholls brilliance at training steeplechasers gained him so many victories.

R.i.p. Kauto a true great what a legend

sad news. rip. 
 
no tribute from ruk. very poor.

such a sad end

RUK will put something fitting together

very sad news indeed...great great horse.

^
they may well do, having said that they should have been on air earlier to at least replay some of his races......what we've had so far is a crumpled Gordon broon droning on about a boring Hamilton card and 5 minutes from Lydia hislop

Smith on now. Seems like several days before they thought it was serious. Sounds like a vet didn't see him the day it happened

emotional scenes on RUK

smith...main thanks goes to Clifford Baker.......Paul Nicholls did his bit as well.......Walsh not mentioned.

Nicholls did his bit

RUK have a bit more footage than ATR's Down Royal race.  Of course, they still have the three horse race where he fell and Walsh remounted, and the subsequent defeat by Monkerhostin at Exeter.

Great horse in great races. Horses of class are what racing is all about. The opposite of the sand rubbish that is increasingly being fobbed off on us.

Exactly what is Clive Smith's problem ?

Arrogance.

Bit like PFN.

Nichols, as usual, showing a lack of class with his sly innuendoes.

I know Clive Smith and he is a thoroughly decent bloke. The problem here lies with Nicholls - it's all about him and what a nasty little dig about not being informed. Why the hell should he when all you've done Nicholls is say unpleasant things about Smith, if not directly then by sly innuendo.

Farewell Great Horse. Great memories.

Agree totally with bilbobaggins, Pumpkinhead may be a great trainer but the man is a tw@t

Sad News,One Of The Greats.

Wonderful horse, thanks for the memories Kauto Star .     

One of my all time favs.

I was fortunate to watch him race several times, including his Cheltenham gold cup victories, cheering him on up the home straight.

Such a tragedy to hear of his death today

RIP

still can't believe he got beat off 149 at exeter

Matt Chapman


Am I alone in thinking Kauto Star had extraordinary injuries and problems for a paddock accident? #gutted #kautothelegend

Doubt we'll ever get the truth of what happened here...

Gutted.

My favourite ever horse and my best moment in racing being there at Chelters watching him regain the GC.

Not many have the speed to smash the top 2 milers and the stamina and guts to win a slog around 3m2f at Chelters; as well as everything in between. He was the finest NH horse I am likely to ever see.

R.I.P

Fantastic horse! Sorry to see him go... and hope he's up there somewhere giving Arkle and the other legends a  proper run for their money.

Tinjakko the weights for a 3 miler up there next week have just been published and Arkle has been set to give him 24 pounds. Needless to say Arkle is odds on but its a bit like here you can only get a fiver max on.

though I leaned more to towards denman,i used to love watching kauto star`s risky jumps,there was always an edge to him imo,best chaser iv`e ever seen and it`s a sad day for horse racing

A sad day for racing fans everywhere and a truly special horse.

Really hope Smith was right when he said he wasn't in any pain, as it sounded a horrific way to go.

Bless him

Awful News.
Great horse.

The day went really fast from this morning when I saw Kauto's pic on ATR and heard the news. I wonder why no one was informed about his situation earlier in the weekend like St Nicholas Abbey connections did at every operation that the vets performed... something is not right with these owners who keep things secret with their horses, especially with high profile ones that are part-owned by the public, like it or not!

RIP

I took my 3 year old son to a country park for most of the day, picked up the wife(in foal) to go shopping.
We`ve been in there 20 mins or so and i`m studying the label on some feta cheese and the wife says to me
`oh yeah Kauto Star is dead, do you want some olives?`

She should no better, i took her to see the KG in 2008. She knew i loved that horse!

divorce?

Special horse

RIP

the whole story and time delay smacks of some sort of cover up to what really happened.

a great racehorse - RIP

"the whole story and time delay smacks of some sort of cover up to what really happened."

I hope we have had the truth (?) Several comments on social media that things don't add up.

I feel really sorry for the horse, deserved his retirement, and sure he would have been happy spending his days with PN. We can all look back with hindsight, but I was strongly against what they done with him and wished he had stayed with PN.

God bless champ.

An absolute legend and it was him and Denman who got me in to National Hunt back around 2007. I always favoured towards Denman who was the less fashionable of the two so it seemed but Kauto was a class act. He won Grade 1's with such ease that it just seemed like an everyday occurance. Not sure we will see horses of the like of him and Denman dominating over so many seasons again for a long time.

The most impressive thing I feel was how he held his form right until the end of his racing career. He was still winning Grade 1's approaching 12 years old. Look at Long Run and Bob's Worth. Both great horses, but their form has significantly dropped now compared to their Gold Cup wins. Kauto had his couple of ups and downs and did look done at one stage. But the fact he was able to not only get back and compete in Grade 1's but win shows the true legend of the horse.

Regarding Smith and Nicholls. Whatever peoples opinions on both men are amd I don't know them personally to comment. However from forming my opinion from seeing them both in public, I feel the whole team at Ditcheat always had Kauto's best interests in their heart. That is something I don't feel Smith had who used his horse to rub Nicholls nose in it. What was the meaning of it? Why force a 12 year old gelding who has just raced for 8 years to learn a new discipline for his final days? He owed connections nothing and watching Kauto freeze in the eventing demonstration was rather uncomfortable and not something a horse like him should have to have been put through. For that, total shame to Clive Smith. He would have been much better putting his differences aside and letting him enjoy his retirement at Ditcheat. Smith needed to remember that the horse owed him nothing.

^ "He owed connections nothing and watching Kauto freeze in the eventing demonstration was rather uncomfortable and not something a horse like him should have to have been put through. For that, total shame to Clive Smith. He would have been much better putting his differences aside and letting him enjoy his retirement at Ditcheat."

I could not agree more, and in the best interest of the horse staying at Ditcheat would have been a much happier retirement for him, but sadly Clive Smith did not see it that way.  Should have put differences aside and done what was best for Kauto.

I know freak accidents can sometimes be the worse, and the injuries he suffered were more like a very bad fall at a fence, but nobody has said exactly what happened. And why did it take a few days until a vet seen him.  It is all very sad indeed.

questions we're unlikely to get answers to:

was he being ridden at the time - or othwerise supervised?
did he fall trying to jump a fence?

King Kauto

Injury occurred on Wednesday and yet the vets were trying to save him over the weekend? No veterinary assistance was sought immediately? Story now going that he suffered a secondary injury - the one to his neck that caused paralysis - while on stall rest and cross tied thus, I thought, unable to lie down bearing in mind the suspected pelvic fracture. Sorry - but something is not right here. Kauto Star was a living legend and earned a lot of money. Are vet bills that expensive that he wasn't immediately seen? Or was there complacency on the part of someone? I would hate to think that, when he most needed people in his life, he may have been let down. More questions than answers.

he tried to escape the paddock apparently and he jumped and fell on its left side and probably neck, full story here: http://www.racingpost.com/news/live.sd?event_id=9771624&category=0

Got loose under a groom, Went into a wall head first so I heard.
The truth will out and shame on all involved as the details from Lambourne are grim as it gets.

Tippu you're on the right track, Keep digging.

Dunno who he was but i caught the back end of an interview yesterday, and the man spoke so well of the great horse.

I know it happens all the time and they are well looked after but him dessie and Denman where 3 that got to me.

Hope all well in Exning gutty fook knows whats gone on . . .But que serra serra.

Nicholls has disgraced himself in his behaviour. Horse was the classiest of the lot of them.

A sad end to the greatest chaser I shall ever see in the flesh.  It was obvious Kauto Star was something special fairly early on and he was a fantastic boxing day bet.  The whole family used to have a bet and gather around to watch and that hadn't happened since Desert Orchid in the 80's.  I saw him at the track three times including the 2009 King George victory which was awsome.  I remember when he fell four out in the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup and slid on his neck for a few yards when he was close to flipping over which I am sure would have resulted in a broken neck and I thought that was a lucky escape.

Interested to read the Racing Post story today, clearly it was felt there was need to be a bit more transparent about what might of happened as yesterday it did read a bit like they hadn't appreciated how serious the situation was until four days after the accident.

Racingquuen why do you think Nicholls has disgraced himself?

Several comments on social media that things don't add up.


Yeah the Colombos on social media are really clued into the happenings of the real world

You need to read what the vet says in tomorrows RP.

As for Laura Collett she was happy to tweet about her photoshoot today. They may have money but they have no class.

I think any respect that was left for Smith Collett and her team etc has long since gone right out of the window for the way they treated/treating the public here. They probably thinking that we are all only interested through our own pockets, only interested in a bet etc and as for nichols and team ditcheat i feel for them i really do. Met Smith on a betfair racing day at Aintree the year Ballabrigs won the National, thought then he seemed to be the most arrogant, not interested in the sport for what it is man I had ever had the misfortune to try and say hi to!

I know Clive Smith and he is a thoroughly decent bloke.

Well he's certainly not coming across that way with his comments that have been reported in the RP this morning.

I'm not Nicholls' biggest fan, though he's undoubtedly a great trainer, but for Smith to say there was "no responsibility at all" is pathetic. What about the responsibility to the likes of Clifford Baker and Sonja Cook, for whom the horse was a major part of their lives?

The whole thing is completely unedifying.

Nicholls would have played a thorough part in creating the animosity that existed between the two men.

In Smith's shoes, how can you agree to Nicholls insistence that Smith's horse should remain in Nicholls' yard?

You have to laugh at Nicholls. He starts the latest spat with his comments about "not having a chance to say goodbye" and then when it winds Smith up in to a response he says "this is not the time for mud slinging".

"In Smith's shoes, how can you agree to Nicholls insistence that Smith's horse should remain in Nicholls' yard?"

In Smith's shoes I would have put differences aside and done what was in the best interest for the horse.  They all loved the horse and no doubt Kauto would have been happiest staying there.

if Clive never bought the horse,Nicholls wouldn't even be part of story

just saying

Correct, the horse wrote his own History

.....no doubt Kauto would have been happiest staying there

How do you know what would have made the horse happy?

You get a load of sentimental bollox on here but this topic takes the biscuit.

Noone in racing seems interested in finding out what happened here and why would they, they've all got their noses in the trough. A shabby end for racing's greatest star is bad PR and bad for business.

You get a load of sentimental bollox on here but this topic takes the biscuit.

spot on....Only matched by the b*llox spouted by those paranoid clowns who think there is more to the story than is being stated and want it "Investigated".

like Matt Chapman?

Yeah saw Chapmans snide remarks on twitter Re: Royal Auclair being moved from Pipe....utter guff that has nothing to do with the current situation.

The current situation came about cos Nicholls somehow saw his stable as being entitled to keep the horse after he retired, peddling some guff about Clifford Baker looking after the horse......despite the owner paying for him and his fees down the years.....he who pays the piper calls the tune.

Wonder if Nicholls would have the neck to make snide comments about JP if he had trained Istabraq

he who pays the piper calls the tune

Indeed - as you say racing is full of sentimental nonsense covering up the fact the horses are merely tools - like a plumber's wrench. The welfare of the horses always comes a distant second to the welfare (and especially the wealth) of those who earn a living from the game.

Yet more bollox. Owners generally love their horses, as well as paying the bills. This spat wasn't about the horse's welfare. It was about PN's need to assert his control over the horse's future. He was able to do so publicly because his relationship with CS was over. He wouldn't have dared such a PR campaign against one of his major owners, or one that he hoped might bring horses into the yard. The Racing Post, and many on here, have swallowed this line whole.

The myth that sells racing: how these people love their horses. What about the countless useless 2yos that go to the glue factory - did their owners love them too?

This spat wasn't about the horse's welfare. It was about PN's need to assert his control over the horse's future.

One and the same thing in many people's eyes. It may be that PN was/is over-controlling, but his handling of Kauto Star was exceptional and I don't believe there are many who think it was in Kauto's best interests to learn dressage with Laura Collett. He looked like he hated every second of it, and it was pretty horrible to see.

Many of us probably are guilty for being over-sentimental but informing PN and Clifford Baker at such a late stage was surely Clive Smith just affirming his ownership rather than doing the humble, right thing and giving the two men most behind his success the opportunity to say their goodbyes.

I am not a PN fan per se, but I find the way CS handled things in the rift incredibly poor, and to see Laura Collett tweeting pictures from her photo shoot straight after a token message about Kauto was absolutely vile.

"but I find the way CS handled things in the rift incredibly poor, and to see Laura Collett tweeting pictures from her photo shoot straight after a token message about Kauto was absolutely vile."

agree with that, I don't think Laura Collett had the same bond with the horse as PN and Clifford Baker.  And then she thought it was seriously cool to be part of a photoshoot after tweeting a token message about the horse and a rather unexplained accident.  CS handled it very badly, at times you have to put personal differences aside. 

As regards being over-sentimental, Kauto was just one of those very special horses like Red Rum, and I hated the route they took with him after racing, the public adoration he had was very special.

Kauto Star was the great champion he was because of the brilliant handling by Nicholls / Baker / Cook and especially Walsh who helped him jump superbly whilst most of the time being able to cope with the odd mistake he could throw in and get him past the post 1st.  Yes Smith is the owner but the acrimonious split with Nicholls seems to have clouded Smiths judgement and led to a disastrous outcome for Kauto Star.  His last wins at Haydock and Kempton where as good a round of fast accurate jumping one could wish to see from a race horse.

I think the circumstances of his untimely death are unsatisfactory it did read a bit like they hadn't appreciated how serious the situation was until four days after the accident.  Collett tweeting pictures from her photo shoot straight after a token message about Kauto Star was classless.  It seems the public cared more about the horse than some of the connections.