by Clive Smiththe owner, whose distinctive yellow, green and purple silk clothing was worn by jump racing superstars Kauto Star and Master Minded, has died after a short illness. He was 82.
Smith trained as an accountant and worked for Chrysler and Ford before the avid golfer founded his own company designing and building golf courses. This included the purchase of the former Hawthorn Hill racecourse near Maidenhead in Berkshire, which he later sold to Japanese investors for £8 million after it had been converted.
By this time, Smith had moved into racehorse ownership, having purchased a horse he would call Hawthorn Hill boy. Trained by Jenny Pitman, he won three races and set Smith on a path that eventually led to… Kauto Star.
Smith continued to have horses with David Elsworth and Martin Pipe, who trained the owner’s first two major winners: Rainbow Frontier in the 1998 Swinton Hurdle and Royal Auclair in the Cathcart Chase at the 2002 Cheltenham Festival.
The following year Smith became owner along with Paul Nicholls. In an interview with the Racing Post in 2007, Smith explained the move: “Martin had done it [leading owner] David Johnson was at the yard and David got the first chance at the good horses. I wanted to get a little more serious, increase the number of horses I own and get some nice horses to see me through my 60s when I can really go out and enjoy them.
“I wanted a coach who would be relaxed, friendly and open with me and from what I saw from Paul I thought he was the right man.”
Clive Smith (second left) walks in with Kauto Star after the 2007 Cheltenham Gold Cup
In 2004, Smith bought Kauto Star from France for a reported 400,000 euros. Over the next eight years, the son of Village Star established himself as one of the best jumpers to ever race in Europe, with 16 Grade 1 wins and a top score of 191 in Racing Post Racing.
Kauto Star scored a record five successes in the King George VI Chase at Kempton and was involved in a number of memorable clashes with stablemate Denman in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which he won in 2007 and was the only horse to recapture in 2009. So.
Kauto Star’s first Gold Cup win came at the end of an exceptional season in which Smith played no small part, insisting his star chaser come along to sandwich his victories in the Betfair Chase and the Grade 1 King George Tingle Creek Chase.
Masterful Smith’s colors also contributed eight Grade 1 races to success, including two wins in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Festival.
After Kauto Star retired from racing in 2012, Smith switched the horse to eventer Laura Collett with the goal of retraining him for a second career in equestrian sports.
The move led to a breakdown in the relationship between Nicholls and Smith, who had his last runners as owner at the end of 2012. However, Smith continued to take part in racing events, such as those commemorating the successes of previous Gold Cup winners.
