Kauto Star doubtful for Cheltenham Gold Cup
Trainer Paul Nicholls has admitted that Kauto Star is doubtful for the upcoming Cheltenham Gold Cup, as the 12-year-old injured himself during a round of schooling.
According to the trainer, the veteran chaser suffered an ‘awful fall’ during a practice session on Friday. The connections were initially hopeful for the situation to get better, but with the record-breaking gelding not showing much improvement, Nicholls
came up with a realistic approach.
He was not reluctant to admit that the four-time King George winner is 50-50 for the Gold Cup, to be held on March 16.
“Kauto took a tumble when Ruby schooled him at the end of last week. I say tumble, but in truth it was a pretty awful fall,” Nicholls wrote in his Betfair column.
"He has had the best veterinary and physiotherapy care possible but we hoped that he would be showing more improvement by now. I spoke to Clifford [Baker] after returning to the stables after a Cheltenham media day on Wednesday, and he said Kauto still wasn't
fully recovered, remained quite stiff, and in his wise words he felt he was 'only 50-50' to make the festival at this stage,” he added.
Kauto Star was being ridden by Ruby Walsh, when he suddenly lost his balance and went down. When Walsh was asked about the incident, he recalled that the champion horse was in great rhythm, but a slight miscalculation became the reason of that heavy fall.
The famous jockey described that it is quite unfortunate that he picked up an injury just a few days before the festival. Despite the fact that Nicholls is not sure about his trainee’s fitness, the rider is not ready to lose hope.
He explained that next 10 days are extremely important for Kauto Star because if he fails to show much improvement, his name will be taken out of the race.
The gelding is in sublime form at the moment. After making his return in November last year, he sealed a couple of back to back wins.
Quickly after the news about his injury, Kauto Star, who has won the Gold Cup title twice in his career, has been moved to 4-1 (from 5-2) by Ladbrokes.
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