Kauto Star to rest under his statue at Kempton Park
A box of Kauto Star’s ashes are to be laid to rest under his statue at Kempton Park.
The record-breaking ex-racehorse sustained fractures to his neck and pelvis in the paddock on Wednesday 24 June and was put down on Monday 29 June at Valley Equine Hospital in Lambourn.
The statue, paying tribute to the record-breaking five-time King George winner, was commissioned by Kauto Star’s owner Clive Smith. It was unveiled on Boxing Day last year.
It was created by equestrian sculptor Charlie Langton — who produced a similar one of Yeats that stands in the parade ring at Ascot.
“The statue will be positioned in the parade ring for all racegoers to admire. Kauto Star is synonymous with the race and we look forward to having our own Kauto Star in situ for many years to come,” said a spokesman for Kempton at the time.
The horse was cremated in Cheltenham on Monday (6 July). It has not yet been confirmed when the ashes will be taken to Kempton.
The statue is one of two commissioned by Kauto’s owner.
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“I have a similar one in my garden, so I can see and remember him every day,” Clive told H&H last week.
The 15-year-old gelding had been living at event rider Laura Collett’s yard since his retirement from racing in 2012.
As well as winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice (2007 and 2009) Kauto Star won the King George at Kempton five times — in 2011 breaking the record set by legendary grey Desert Orchid.
The horse won armies of fans through his successes and was one of the most popular horses of recent times.
Kauto Star was trained in Somerset by Paul Nicholls during his racing career. He retired in October 2012 and moved to Laura’s yard in Lambourn where he was hacked and schooled frequently.
“He’s left a large hole in the yard that will never be filled, there won’t be another one like him,” Laura told H&H.
The rider has since spoken of feeling “bullied and hurt” after the death of the horse, which caused a storm of conspiracy theories on social media.
“It’s been a harrowing week but I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone has shown their kind support,” she wrote on Twitter yesterday (Tuesday 7 July).
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.