NICK Clegg is less familiar than a racehorse according to a sensational survey released today by betting giants Ladbrokes. A whopping 98% of punters have heard of Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Kauto Star whilst the Leader of the Liberal Democrats trailed

NICK Clegg is less familiar than a racehorse according to a sensational survey released today by betting giants Ladbrokes.

A whopping 98% of punters have heard of Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Kauto Star whilst the Leader of the Liberal Democrats trailed in an also-ran with almost one in four punters confessing to never even having heard of Clegg.

Kauto Star's arch-rival Denman scored a healthy 96% recognition score in the exclusive survey - galloping way ahead of Cabinet Minister Ed Miliband who left 21% of the public clueless as to who he is.

The news will come as a blow to Clegg who has spent his party's Spring Conference attempting to position himself as a major player in the Election battle.

David Williams of Ladbrokes said: "The results are staggering. Kauto Star is a genuine A-lister whereas Nick Clegg is little more than a neigh-lister.

Tory leader David Cameron fared much better than Clegg with a 96% success rate in the recognition test, higher than under-fire Chancellor Alistair Darling who was also trumped in the test by Desert Orchid who raced nearly 20 years ago!

Darling's predecessor Norman Lamont famously likened himself to the popular horse known as "Dessie" by joking in his Budget speech: "We are both greys, vast sums of money are riding on our performance, the Opposition hopes we will fall at the first fence, and we are both carrying too much weight.