Grasshopper
Senior Jockey
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2006
- Messages
- 16,050
Deadly serious... Kauto is a better horse on other tracks. Denman is a better horse at Cheltenham.
I've not got the ratings to hand, but didn't Kauto run to a higher rating when he was beateb by Denman than he did when he won the time before?
I had Kauto running to within 1lb of his first victory, when second to Denman.
However, he didn't have to run up to anywhere near his best to win his first Gold Cup, as the race was a jog, and he won it in a matter of strides turning in.
Like you, I was of the opinion that Kauto Star was less well suited by Cheltenham than Denman.....until this year's Gold Cup. The form is absolutely rock-solid, and -for my money - Kauto Star takes a higher rating out of the race, than Denman did the year before.
Given this, I can only assume that Kauto Star didn't "fire" the previous year, when beaten by Denman. It's only my opinion, and I try not to get too strident about it.