Dual Gold Cup winner Kauto Star put down due to fractured pelvis

Retired national hunt legend Kauto Star has been put down after a fall in the paddock left him with a complex fracture to the left side of his pelvis.

Kauto Star is revered as one the greatest chasers of all time, having won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice in 2007 and 2009, and the King George VI Chase on a record five occasions.

The Clive Smith-owned horse, who was retired in 2012, was treated for his injuries at an equine hospital on Monday and later put down.

"I am devastated. He had been turned out in [the] paddock, as has been done normally with him at this time for years, and he looks to have jumped something, and stumbled, we're not really sure, but he injured himself - and it became obvious it was serious," Smith is quoted as saying by The Racing Post.

"The vets made him comfortable but it became evident that it was serious, and the kindest thing was to euthanise him.

"It was a horrible moment. He was such a wonderful horse, but he did not suffer."