Paul Nicholls and Clive Smith, the trainer and owner respectively of Kauto Star, led tributes to the achievements of the outstanding steeplechaser on Tuesday after it emerged the dual Gold Cup winner had been put down on Monday afternoon.
Kauto Star won 16 Grade One chases and nearly £2.4m in prize money in a 41-race career, and also secured a £1m bonus in the 2006-07 season, when he was unbeaten in six starts. Following his retirement from racing, Smith sent Kauto Star to the leading event rider Laura Collett to be retrained as a dressage performer. He was put down at the Valley Equine Hospital in Lambourn following an injury and subsequent complications sustained in a paddock at Collett’s stable.
“He was an absolutely incredible horse with a lot of speed, winning over two miles in Tingle Creeks [at Sandown], then right up to the [Cheltenham] Gold Cups, which he needed a lot of stamina for,” Smith said. “He was so brave, he had everything really. He was the complete racehorse.”
Smith said Kauto Star suffered what was believed to be a minor injury last week but his condition deteriorated steadily over the weekend. “The vets at Valley Equine Hospital did all they could but it became increasingly apparent the injuries were too serious and that it was in the horse’s interests to be put down,” Smith said.
“The onset of secondary problems, pneumonia and laminitis [painful inflammation of the hoof], as a result of the horse being unable to put his head down and the increase of toxins in his body after standing stationary for so long, highlight the challenges faced when treating serious injuries in horses.
“The real injury that has caused the problem is a neck injury, at the base of the neck between vertebrae. It affects the spinal chord and in the end, it paralyses through the legs.
“When I saw him yesterday afternoon, he was lying there and I fed him some grass and stroked him and tried to spend the last few minutes with him. The decision had to be taken and there was no other course of action to take.”
The relationship between Nicholls and Smith deteriorated towards the end of Kauto Star’s career and the trainer was bitterly disappointed when Smith decided to move Kauto Star to Collett’s yard rather than let him spend his retirement at Nicholls’ stable.
Nicholls said: “Laura Collett kindly called me before there was a press release this morning. That’s the first I knew about it, although I understand the accident happened nearly a week ago.
“It’s obviously a very sad day and very sad news to take on board. I’m obviously mortified. He was like my best mate really. I saw him every day before his move and he was a great horse in every way temperament-wise.
“When he left, it was obviously a big hole we had to fill in everybody’s lives. He’d been so good for racing and so good for everybody.
“I’ve been very lucky to have trained some incredible horses but I’ve always said he’s once in a lifetime. Even after he was written off, to come back and win his fourth Betfair Chase and a fifth King George said everything about him. He was just an amazing horse.”
Ruby Walsh, who rode Kauto Star to 17 of his 19 career wins in Britain and Ireland, said the gelding had been one of the greats of National Hunt racing.
“Kauto Star was a superstar and it’s a real shame his life off the track has been cut short,” Walsh said. “He was a wonderful horse to ride and he gave me some of the best days I’ll ever have as a jockey.
“He was without a doubt the best chaser I’ve ever ridden, a horse in a lifetime. I’ll never ride one as good as him again. How could you? Just look at his record.”
