Exotic chasing elusive Kauto scalp
One of racing’s greatest one-sided rivalries will be renewed at Haydock on Saturday when the brilliant Kauto Star attempts to confirm his superiority over Exotic Dancer.
Paul Nicholls’ 2007 Gold Cup winner has in recent years become the nemesis of Exotic Dancer, who has finished behind him in the seven times they have raced against each other.
The duo again line up for the Betfair Chase, a race Kauto Star has won for the last two years.
Exotic Dancer, trained by Jonjo O’Neill, was in arrears on both of those occasions but narrowed the gap to just half a length 12 months ago.
“He’s up against his old rival, meeting him for the eighth time,” said Barry Simpson, racing manager to Exotic Dancer’s owner Sir Robert Ogden.
“I have to say eight is my lucky number. We were pleased with his first run and Jonjo reports the horse to be in great form. It’s a big day for us.”
Kauto Star and Exotic Dancer dominate the market for the six-runner contest on Merseyside.
The former is trading at around 2-5 with sponsors Betfair, while Exotic Dancer is a 4-1 shot.
Small factions of racing observers felt Nicholls’ eight-year-old was in demise after his comprehensive Gold Cup defeat to Denman was followed up with a strange display at Aintree, where he finished second to Our Vic.
The dissenting voices were thankfully muted on his return at Down Royal, however, when Kauto Star clinically outpointed an admittedly weak field in the JNwine.com Champion Chase – his ninth Grade One triumph.
“I was happy with him the other day at Down Royal,” reflected Nicholls. “He didn’t beat much but he did it really nicely. I’m looking forward to the race.”
Despite Exotic Dancer’s promising second to Knowhere in the Old Roan Chase at Aintree, Timeform still rate Kauto Star head and shoulders above his old foe.
Spokesman Kieran Packman said: “Although his main market rival Exotic Dancer shaped encouragingly on his reappearance at Aintree, he’s still 10lb behind his old rival Kauto Star on ratings.
“A hat-trick of Betfair Chases looks on the cards for Paul Nicholls’ outstanding chaser.”
Simpson, however, remains optimistic Exotic Dancer still has enough class to cause a serious upset in their latest rematch.
“We go there and it’s an interesting race,” he added. “It’s not just about two horses but, strictly on the form, the two should dominate the finish as they did last year.
“We’re not poles apart from Kauto Star. We’ve accepted the fact that he’s a better horse than us and he’s achieved more than we have.
“We’ll keep having a go at him and we might beat him one day, hopefully it will be tomorrow. In order to beat him we’ve got to perform to our very best and he probably has to under perform. Jonjo is delighted with the way he has come on since his race at Aintree.
“Fitness-wise, he has improved and we couldn’t be happier with the horse. We haven’t any excuses as far as the ground is concerned, it’s going to be good, good to soft. Everything is there to go out and play for.”
