AP McCoy© Photo Healy Racing
Tony McCoy has paid glowing tribute to Kauto Star after the great chaser died at the age of 15.
The recently-retired champion jockey rode the Paul Nicholls-trained superstar in the delayed 2010 renewal of the King George VI Chase when he finished a disappointing third but was later found to be under the weather.
McCoy said: "It is very sad news. He was the greatest steeplechaser of the modern era. The record proves that.
"Winning five King Georges and two Gold Cups and winning the Tingle Creek over two miles is an amazing feat.
"He was great credit to Paul Nicholls as a chaser, to keep producing him time and time again.
"He didn't have it easy. He had an horrific fall at Cheltenham in the Gold Cup and to get him back and win another King George after that was an amazing feat.
"He had what a lot of those great racehorses have and those great sportsmen have - a great will to win and a great heart. He was unbelievably tough as well.
"Ruby (Walsh) was brilliant on him. He was a horse with a lot of class and Ruby made him look like the amazing horse that he was. They were very well matched.
"I've seen him on a regular basis up at Laura Collett's and he was enjoying his retirement and was amazingly well looked after.
"In retirement, I think it was better he was doing something than doing nothing.
"Best Mate was probably the best Gold Cup horse we've seen since Arkle, because he won three of them, but to win five King Georges - I always thought Desert Orchid was the best horse I'd see in my lifetime, but Kauto Star achieved even more than him."
McCoy said Kauto Star's career record, which saw 23 wins from 41 starts and well over £2million in prize-money earned, will stand the test of time.
He said: "The statistics don't lie about how good he was or what he achieved.
"He was a household name and even though he was retired, they become your friends, near on being a pet.
"It's very tough for everyone that's been involved with him and it's sad for racing as he was a great ambassador for the sport and the sport needs horses like him.
"He showed the sport to its very best."
