Kauto second as Monet’s Garden rules

MONET’S Garden claimed the scalp of Gold Cup hero Kauto Star in a highly-charged renewal of the Bonusprint.com Old Roan Chase at Aintree yesterday.

Paul Nicholls used the two-and-a-half-mile event as a springboard to one of the most productive campaigns in modern history last year. But his seven-year-old found a repeat success under his welter burden a step too far.

However, the Clive Smith-owned gelding lost absolutely nothing in defeat as he went down to Cumbria’s shining white star, Monet’s Garden, to whom he was conceding a stone in weight.