27th Dec 2011 | Horse Racing
King Kauto
Kauto Star reclaimed Boxing Day after winning the King George; we look at the impact on Cheltenham antepost markets.
It was a historic fifth King George for Kauto Star, who put in a magnificent performance to beat the evens money favourite Long Run by 1.25 lengths, with Captain Chris back in third.
Kauto Star is now a best price 5/1 (Stan James) to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, having been 12/1 before his Kempton win.
Reigning champion Long Run has now lost in consecutive meetings and has been eased to 3/1 (Ladbrokes) from 5/2. The bookmakers are keeping faith with the younger Henderson chaser, but they have already been wrong twice this season.
Earlier in the day Grands Crus put in a faultless round of jumping to win the Feltham Novices’ Chase recording a time 2.8 seconds faster than Kauto Star over the same distance. David Pipe’s grey is 9/4 (Coral) for the RSA Chase at the Festival but he was also cut to 12/1 (Boylesports) from 16/1 for the Gold Cup. With the field lacking strength in depth, Cheltenham’s blue riband event could be tempting for connections.
Kempton’s other big race saw Binocular scramble home in the Christmas Hurdle. The bookmakers were impressed enough to cut his odds for the Champion Hurdle from 16/1 to 12/1 (Betfred). Runner-up Rock On Ruby was also trimmed to 12/1 from 16s with the same firm.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 10:02 27th Dec, 2011 but subject to change
