Star Still Shines In Roan Reverse

Kauto Star tasted defeat for the first time in seven starts but emerged with a great deal of credit when finding Monet's Garden too strong in the Bonusprint.com Old Roan Chase at Aintree.

Although losing out by a length and a half, the 11-10 favourite was conceding a stone to Nicky Richards' talented grey.

Ruby Walsh had to stoke up the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner along the back of the course ? but the seven-year-old kept responding.

He ate into Monet's Garden's lead but Richards' 9-4 shot always help the upper hand and claimed the Grade Two prize, with the first two home 20 lengths clear of Exotic Dancer.

Nicholls said: 'I have said all week this was a starting point and we couldn't have asked for more.

'I thought Monet's Garden was the one to beat at the weights as he is a specialist two-and-a-half miler.

'He did run lazy early on but my view now is that he wants a trip, and he has ran his best races over three miles.

'Two and a half miles around here is sharp enough for him but he has jumped brilliantly.

'This has set the season up brilliantly for us and he is a Gold Cup horse, which we will train him for now.

'We have got a month to Haydock now and that is his target.

'I always said that if he is going to get beat then today would be the day, and he was giving over a stone to a very good horse.'

Repeat wins in the Betfair Chase, King George VI Chase and the Gold Cup are now on the agenda, with his price for the latter two events relatively unchanged.

Coral clipped him to 5-4 from 11-8 for the King George and to 7-4 from 2s for the Gold Cup, while Ladbrokes left him unchanged at 7-4.

Monet's Garden is now three from four at the track under Tony Dobbin, and signed off last season with a course-and-distance win in Grade One company.

Richards said: 'The race went the way we thought it would go and when I saw Ruby squeezing along on Kauto Star with a circuit to go I thought ?this is all right'.

'But to the second's credit he kept at it ? he is a great horse and it was a great performance.

'I would have thought Paul was a little concerned going out into the country there but to the horse's credit he kept at it.

'He'd be the only one who could give my horse weight like that ? I promise you.

'Two and a half miles seems to be his best trip, but we might drop to two miles and I'll consider the Tingle Creek with him, or we might go for the Peterborough.

'It would have to be good ground for him to run in the King George, and his big target will probably be to bring him back here in April again.'

(C) PA Sport