Headlines switch for the King George VI Chase change at the dusk of 2012
Not even the weather conditions are in favour of the trip that this year will not feature the champion of the race, Kauto Star, in the King George VI Chase at Kempton. The five-time successful trainer, Paul Nicholls, first retired the champion, he was not
really over with that when the two-time winner of the Cheltenham Cup was taken away from the trainer’s yard to pursue the dressage career.
Not that he was done making peace with the changes, his ace representative for the King George, Al Ferof, endured injury which forced him to wave a premature good bye to the season.
The hall mark trainer is now represented through the half-brother of the King George success story, Kauto Star, Kauto Stone.
The headlines which last year read Kauto Star against the Nicky Henderson trained, Long Run, in the King George VI Chase at Kempton now have taken an all new turn to Long Run opposing Grands Crus.
"The race wasn't run to suit at Haydock and the ground was quite tricky for a horse that isn't used to running on that sort of heavy ground," explained Waley-Cohen.
"It's possible the Gold Cup he won as a six-year-old might have taken a h**l of a lot out of him, it might be that Kauto Star was a h**l of a good horse last year.
"He had a quiet week after Haydock but he's in good order and we hope to have him cherry-ripe for Kempton."
The only way Long Run can stand true to the headlines and the expectations of the connections is through improving the form in which he raced last and stood second to Silviniaco Conti.
"I think we were right to drop off him or we would have got into a slog. It depends how fast someone wants to go.”
The most aggressive trainers have put out their arsenal in the field and both are equally vengeful for the tile that has made its way to the stables of both the trainers, Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls.
How deeply will the absence of Kauto Star impact the outcome for his former stable will be out in the open soon.
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