Kauto leads the stars on Sunday
On a weekend featuring the ever-popular Breeders’ Cup, stay-at-home punters are also in for a treat as Gold Cup hero Kauto Star makes his seasonal reappearance at Aintree.
After winning the Bonusprint.com Old Roan Chase last season, the Paul Nicholls-trained chaser took the National Hunt scene by storm, winning a further five races on the bounce – including the Betfair Chase, Tingle Creek and King George VI at Kempton.
And with connections aiming their superstar at the same starting point this campaign, it would have been unsurprising if credible opponents failed to materialise.
Yet that is not the case, with Gold Cup runner-up Exotic Dancer, Melling Chase hero Monet’s Garden and the speedy Ashley Brook all receiving varying lumps of weight from Nicholls’ charge.
The Ditcheat handler told Teletext: “We are looking forward to it and it has always been his target. He had a good summer, spending eight weeks at grass with Twist Magic, Taranis and Denman.
“Last year we were full of hope and what he did was fantastic but now there is obviously a certain amount of pressure.
“Aintree is our starting point for Kauto Star and all his big races are in the future, so as long as he jumps well and comes back fine we’ll go from here.
“He’s in good order now. We have left a little to work on and he has to give weight to some very good horses.”
Providing the best-laid plans progress smoothly, Kauto Star will follow a similar path to Cheltenham in March to defend his Gold Cup crown.
“His schedule will pretty much be the same as last year – he’ll go to Haydock, Kempton, and then have something before the Gold Cup,” Nicholls said.
“It was a smallish field in the Old Roan last year when Kauto Star won so that’s not a major concern and Ashley Brook will probably set a good gallop.”
The fifth and final horse declared for Sunday’s feature is Kauto Star’s stablemate Le Volfoni – although he is also declared to run in the Sportingindex.com/Racing Silver Trophy at Chepstow on Saturday.
Nicky Richards is in confident mood as he looks forward to seeing Monet’s Garden back on a track where he has run some of his best races.
Last seen at the Merseyside venue in April, the galloping grey handed Taranis and Well Chief a comprehensive beating over course and distance.
“He’s ready for his first run and he’s in grand nick,” said Richards.
“It’s nice for a good horse like Monet’s Garden to be receiving weight.
“It will be a very interesting race and I bet the five of them win some races by the end of the season, that’s for certain.
“Everything’s gone grand. He’s had a good summer and a good preparation and hopefully we are going to have a good season with him.”
Big-race jockey Toby Dobbin is also looking forward to the race, which kicks off the Order of Merit series – won last year by Kauto Star.
He added: “He’d be fairly fit and he wouldn’t be going to the races if he wasn’t, but he’ll probably improve for it, as will most of the others.
“He’s bouncing and will hopefully give a good account of himself. He seems to like Aintree and the ground is perfect so everything is right for him,” he told At The Races.
Exotic Dancer is owned by Sir Robert Ogden, whose racing manager Barry Simpson feels the weight swing with Kauto Star should make him very competitive.
He said: “With the difference in weight of 7lb it should be, strictly speaking, a dead heat.
“However, we are mindful that this race is the starting point of the season.
“We wanted to go to Wetherby the following weekend but the ground was an issue. We need good ground so we are heading to Liverpool.”
Tony McCoy will renew his partnership with Exotic Dancer, and added: “He’s coming back in trip but he’s won a Paddy Power and Boylesports Gold Cup so hopefully it won’t be a problem.
“He’s a big, tall horse and he’s only seven so he could still be improving. Having said that, Kauto Star’s not old and he could be too.
“There’s no doubt Kauto Star was an amazing performer last year but we’ll have another go at him and hopefully won’t let him have it all his own way this season.”
Bonusprint.com Old Roan Chase, Coral bet: 15-8 Monet’s Garden, 2-1 Kauto Star, 11-4 Exotic Dancer, 6-1 Ashley Brook, 50-1 Le Volfoni.
