Page 24 - February 2009 The Game

24 The Game, February 2009
Outside the Borders by Nigel Grif ths.
Boxing day is King George day and this 3 mile chase around Kempton Park is one of the premier steeplechases on the calendar. Since it’s inception in 1937 to honour the new King George VI, it’s always been contested by
some of the best chasers around and
in the past has been won by legendary sorts such as triple Gold Cup winners Arkle and Best Mate, but none have surpassed the great Desert Orchid in winning the race a record four times. Although many have gone on to take Gold Cup glory at the Festival, it is a different race to the Gold Cup, much different dynamics. The at sharp track at Kempton plays to the strengths of speed, whereas the Gold Cup calls
for more reserves of stamina over its extended 31⁄4 mile trip.
This time, aiming to join an elite group of racehorses that have won three King Georges was the Clive Smith owned Kauto Star. After opening up at 6/4 in the morning,
he had been heavily backed all day into 10/11 at the off. Snoopy Loopy and Tamarinbleu led them along at
a good pace, but as they tired Ruby Walsh was traveling con dently on the strong favourite and after taking it up three out the race was over and only the places mattered. A lot have been
Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
quick to nd any fault in the horse, but he’s a star of the track in these recent years having competed at the highest level in 20 chases, winning 13 and second 5 times and will now head to Cheltenham to take back his Gold Cup crown ‘borrowed’ from him last year by his stable the formidable Denman. It will be fascinating to see if he can do it if he’s blessed with faster ground than he encountered last year.
Cup again, and 4-1 that another trainer triumphs. Nicholls is also 5-1 to repeat last year’s 1-2-3.
Whatever Paul Nicholls does with his representatives in the Gold Cup, it looks as though only a fall will deny his young speedster Master Minded
a follow up in the 2 mile Queen Mother Champion Chase. Last year
as a 5 yo he demolished a strong eld, including the reigning champion Voy Por Ustedes skipping clear effortlessly in a matter of strides to take the race before the turn for home. This season he made his debut in the Tingle
Creek in December and smashed the useful Tidal Bay at level weights by 10 lengths. On January 17th he was even more dominant and was hugely impressive, taking the 2m Victor Chandler Chase with a powerhouse performance and a very comfortable 16 lengths victory. He’s a joy to watch and at six years old can only improve.
like an out-and-out two-miler and has an unbelievable cruising speed. I don’t see the need as to why he needs to go further in trip.”
Although a lot of talk concerns the big stables and their stars, it’s good to see a small trainer take top honours
in big races. The Pierse Handicap Hurdle (formerly The Schweppes) over 2 miles at Leopardstown in Ireland
is a race I like and a challenge for anybody trying to nd the winner out of a number of horses laid out for the race. Tony Martin has built a bit of a reputation for preparing horses ahead of the handicapper for big races and
it was his Psycho (who ‘should have’ won the County Hurdle last year at
the Festival) that was sent off a well backed 11/2 favourite. Unfortunately Penny’s Hill spoilt the impending party as Sean Flanagan managed to fend off all-comers including the favourite by half a length at the line to give trainer Elizabeth Doyle’s 50/1 winner his biggest payday of his career.
An interesting point from the King George was in the In-running betting. (You can bet on the Exchanges as the race is in progress). Kauto Star was heavily backed on the Exchanges, but drifted to prices of 4/1 in-running. This led Betfair’s Tony Calvin to
say, “I’m gobsmacked he went above evens in running, let alone 4-1. Forget the horses - they should dope test the layers.” Coral have Kauto Star a 5-2 shot to win a fourth successive King George in 2009 and 3/1 for the Gold Cup in March.
To quote Ruby Walsh, “I wasn’t sure how well he was going so I gave him
a squeeze and he kicked into another gear and away he went. He is an incredible horse to ride and everything seems so easy for him and he knows he has unbelievable power and at times is too willing to use it. “I thought when I rode him in the Queen Mother that he was too good to be true.”
While on the subject of the Gold Cup. There has been a good entry
of 38 for the race, with prizemoney
of C$841,000. With no horse ever winning non-consecutive Gold Cups, Kauto Star has the stats against him regaining his crown. From a betting angle William Hill make it a 1-7 chance that Paul Nicholls lifts the Gold
Triple Stayers Hurdle winner Inglis Drever has been retired after sustaining a hock injury in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury. This horse became many a racefans favourite, not only with his ‘never say die’ attitude to the game, but also because he was one that ’came back’.
“He is exceptional, what he did last year in the Champion Chase as a ve- year-old was phenomenal. He rides
After a year off through injury he ground out a thrilling third win in
the Stayers over the French trained Kasbah Bliss and ‘raise the roof’ from an appreciative crowd packed into
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The Game February 2009.indd
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