The roof was well and truly raised at Kempton Park racecourse on Boxing Day following Kauto Star's fifth King George VI Chase success. Now eleven years old, the punters had sided with last year's winner Long Run as a pile of money came in for the reigning Gold Cup champion who was sent off evens favourite. However, much like the Betfair Chase a month earlier, the eleven year old prooved there's plenty of life left in the old dogs legs by taking it to his market rival and again proving too strong.
Sent off at 3/1, Kauto was the romantic angle for the race, with plenty of support from the families who flooded through the Kempton Park gates on an unseasonably mild Boxing Day in Surrey. Hundreds of supporters adourned the two time Gold Cup winners' colours, also worn by stablemate Master Minded who was trying three miles for the first time.
The betting suggested it was a two horse race but the support that came in for Long Run was enough to send him off an even money favourite. We're probably in the midst of a golden age of jumps racing, with superstars in each of the four champion divisions, the likes of Kauto Star and stablemate Denman have dominated the three mile jumping scene of half a dozen years. Long Run is the new kid on the block but connections may have to have a look at their tactics when they look for revenge over Kauto Star at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Perhaps Sam Waley-Cohen needs to ride Long Run more handily but as Kauto jumped into the lead three fences out, he had the horse he's conceding five years too on the hop and a gap that wasn't able to be closed. Long Run remains favourite for the Gold Cup at odds of 3/1 with Ladbrokes and he was staying on at the finish in a style that would suggest the Cheltenham hill could suit if Ruby adopts the same tactics in March.
The pair head the betting for the Gold Cup, with Kauto clipped in to 4/1 second favourite from 12's with Ladbrokes. Third favourite at 8/1 is the grey Grands Crus, who was an impressive winner of the Feltham Novices' Chase earlier on the card at Kempton. The David Pipe trained six year old has a huge future over the big fences but he's far more likely to stick to novice company this season and is a short priced favourite to win the RSA Chase in March.
Quito De La Roque is next best in the betting at 10/1 and looks like being Ireland's best hope of landing the Gold Cup for the first time since War Of Attrition in 2006. He runs in the Lexus Chase at the Christmas Festival in Leopardstown and a good run there should see his odds tumble.
Captain Chris, who was a beaten third in the King George acquitted himself well on his first attempt over three miles. Last year's Arkle winner stayed on when looking like being the first to fall away on the second circuit but Ladbrokes were unimpressed going best price 33/1 about a Gold Cup win in 2012. He's an 8/1 shot to win the Champion Chase and 10/1 to win the Ryanair Chase, so his options are very much open.
Many thought that last year's Gold Cup was the best in recent memory as Long Run pipped Denman and Kauto Star. With Denman now retired it's up to Kauto to supply the fairytale ending at Cheltenham on Friday 16th March.
3/1 Long Run
4/1 Kauto Star
8/1 Grands Crus
12/1 Quito De La Roque
20/1 Rubi Light
20/1 Time For Rupert
20/1 Diamond Harry
20/1 Weird Al
25/1 BAR
Odds supplied by Ladbrokes.com.
Posted: Tuesday, 27th December 2011
Author: Russell Lloyd
Tags: cheltenham gold cup, kauto star, cheltenham festival, long run, ladbrokes,
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