 Kauto Star could not secure a fifth consecutive King George VI win on Saturday
Beaten King George VI Chase favourite Kauto Star is to be targeted at the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. Speculation had mounted over the four-time King George winner's future after he finished third behind new champion Long Run on Saturday. Trainer Paul Nicholls said Kauto Star was not 100% following his defeat. "Kauto Star fine today. Have to report that he did have a small bleed after the race. Will go straight for the Gold Cup now," Nicholls said on Twitter. Nicholls added in his Betfair column: "I can tell you now that reports of his demise are somewhat exaggerated, and there is no talk of retirement here. "[The King George] now gives us a bit of challenge with the horse - and hopefully we, and most importantly, the horse will rise to it.  | 606: DEBATE |
"He will be prepared for a tilt at a third Gold Cup victory in March - different ground, different track, different day - and we would like to aim him for a third victory at Down Royal in the autumn, too. "As long as he is enjoying his racing and running well, then he will continue - he is 11, not 13. "[The King George] was undoubtedly a big disappointment. He was never travelling or jumping with any real fluency, but it wasn't as if he ran a poor race. Without his blunder at the second last, he probably would have been a fair second to a very good horse. "But that clearly wasn't his best form. I am not making excuses but I can reveal that when he got back last night and stuck his head in the water bucket, he bled from both nostrils. He has never done it before, and will probably never do it again. "It wasn't a big bleed but it indicates that he probably bled during the race (possibly after his mistake at the second last, which meant he had to dig deep to get home), which would not have aided his cause. "So it is up to me and my team here at Ditcheat to get him right for Cheltenham and we will relish the challenge." Kauto Star, the 11-year-old dual Gold Cup winner, could meet two other previous victors and his King George conqueror if he lines up in the Gold Cup on 18 March. Stablemate Denman, 2010 winner Imperial Commander and Long Run are all set to run next in steeplechasing's blue riband event. Long Run would be attempting to be the first six-year-old since Mill House in 1963 to win the big Cheltenham race. He is also entered for the shorter Ryanair Chase but owner Robert Waley-Cohen admits the Gold Cup has to be a real possibility now. "I would think we would find it hard to resist going for the Gold Cup. He probably won't run again before then," said Waley-Cohen. Long Run was cut to 7-1 from 25-1 for the Gold Cup after the King George by bookmakers, who rate Imperial Commander a general 7-2 favourite with Denman 8-1 and Kauto Star around 9-1.
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