Kauto Stone

Kauto Star’s half-brother Kauto Stone looked good in winning a valuable Grade 3 four-year-old chase run over two and three-quarter miles at Auteuil on Sunday, and it is significant that connections suggested that he could now be on track for the Feltham Chase at Kempton on St Stephen’s Day. Of course, it is difficult to evaluate the merit of French jumps form relative to Irish and British jumps form at this time of year, and Saint Du Chenet, who beat Kauto Stone by a length in a Grade 1 contest in May, didn’t appear to run his race, but there was a lot to like about Kauto Stone’s performance here. He travelled well throughout and kept on well to win nicely, leaving the impression that he had plenty more left to give. The one slight negative is that he did jump a little to his right, which wasn’t ideal at Auteuil, but which might well be a positive on Kempton’s tight right-handed circuit.

It may not be a coincidence that Long Run won this race last year as a prelude to his trip to Kempton to win the Feltham, and Kauto Stone may be on a similar journey. As a four-year-old, like Long Run, he will get 7lb from his elders if he makes the trip, an allowance that may be generous in the extreme given that, with seven hurdle races and four chases already under his girth, he will probably be more experienced than most of his older rivals. With the Kauto name, he is sure to attract attention, but he could prove to be a high class staying novice chaser this term.

10th October 2010

© The Irish Field, 16th October 2010