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Kauto star rated only 50-50 for Cheltenham Gold Cup
CHELTENHAM hero Kauto Star’s emotional bid for third Gold Cup success is rated at just 50-50 after trainer Paul Nicholls-trained revealed 12-year-old took a “pretty awful fall” under jockey Ruby Walsh at his Somerset yard.
The 16 March Cheltenham showpiece was expected to be a duel between Kauto Star and defending champion Long Run, who he beat to land a fifth King George VI Chase victory at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.
But Nicholls revealed: “There’s no easy way to say this but Kauto Star is only 50-50 to make the Gold Cup.
“As a trainer, it is all too easy to sit on information when it comes to your horses, but I am sad to report that his participation at the Cheltenham Festival is in doubt.”