Yogi Breisner, the Oxfordshire-based British eventing national coach, is set to play a key role in Kauto Star’s proposed new career in the world of dressage.

Breisner, who lives at Thame, will help European bronze medal eventing rider Laura Collett to assess the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup hero’s suitability for the discipline in the coming weeks after the gelding was abruptly moved to her base on the Membury Estate in Wiltshire yesterday.

However, owner Clive Smith’s decision to transfer the 12-year-old was not popular with trainer Paul Nicholls and the staff at his Ditcheat yard in Somerset.

Nicholls said: “It is with great sadness that I have to report that Kauto Star has left the yard for the last time.

“What upset me and my team here is when Clive announced that he had spoken to experts about the horse’s future, but failed to consult and listen properly to the team that had looked after him here for the past nine years. That really upset us.

“He was a member of the family here at Ditcheat, and we will all miss him so much.”

Collett, meanwhile, tweeted: “I feel very privileged and extremely honoured to have been asked to ride Kauto Star.

“I will be working closely with Yogi to give Kauto Star the best chance of a second career in dressage.”