Coral will refund all antepost stakes on Kauto Star in the Cheltenham Gold Cup should the second favourite miss the race.
“Kauto Star is the Festival’s headline act and the most popular jump horse in training, so we have decided to take swift action to reassure customers who have backed him that they will not lose out if he misses the Gold Cup”, said Simon Clare, Coral Spokesman.
“We have taken nearly 6,000 bets on Kauto Star most of them from small-staking, died-in-the-wool racing fans who follow the horse religiously and who will have been pole-axed by the news that he may not make the Gold Cup. The last thing we need is a black cloud hanging over ante post markets in the build up to the Festival so hopefully this announcement will lift some of the gloom”, said Clare
“We are re-launching our old “Never A Quarrel Bet With Coral” strapline tomorrow and this gesture fits nicely with the sentiment of that line”, added Clare.
“We are desperately hoping that Kauto Star will run in the race as he is the star of the show but if he does sadly miss the contest we will happily pay back what will be a sizeable five-figure sum”, concluded Clare.