Kauto Star : Two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner put down after fall

I'll admit I'm not really a horse racing fan , no engines , but I do know that Kauto Star was a big deal when he was racing winning 23 of his 41 races including winning the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup twice.
Kauto Star retired from racing in 2012 for a life as a Stud and to compete in a bit of dressage to give him a break from the fillies.

Today it has been announced that Kauto Star sustained a fracture to his pelvis following a fall and had to be euthanised by vets.

"Jockey Ruby Walsh once likened Kauto Star to footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
"The horse was quick, versatile, brilliant, beautiful even - winning top races over a range of distances from two miles to more than three-and-a quarter miles.
"He was tough, too. When many thought retirement beckoned, he came back to his best and won a record fifth King George VI Chase at an enraptured Kempton Park.
"There is deep sadness in the racing world today at the loss of an equine legend."
www.bbc.co.uk...

Very sad news as a horse racing enthusiast. Even worse to go like this after facing the dangers of chasing. In terms of life span it had a long and illustrious career and will go down in history as one of the greats.

There are much more important issues going on around the world but being able to observe the natural beauty and power of these intelligent animals is something that distracts us if only for a moment the cruelty our own species carries out.

Rip kauto

a reply to: gortex

A lot of horses dont make it to retirement and even less to stud due to the nature of racing . Sad but at least he got to sow some oats so to speak , and kick back in the paddock and say , hey look at me .

a reply to: hutch622

After pacing the young horses with an older horse early in the morning the young stable hand put the older horse into his stable to cool down. Half an hour later he took a bucket of water over and found the horse lying dead from a heart attack. Horrified and wondering if he'd be in any trouble the young lad ran to the boss and told him. The boss looked over the stable door and said "Oh yeah. They do that."

Was gutted to hear the news. The kauto star vs Denman vs Imperial commander were some of the best days in horse racing which made the gold cup even more special. On his day he was unbeatable but he had less and less of those days as he got older. Like the greyhound west mead hawk, all racing enthusiasts will member the name kauto star.