Nick Clegg is less familiar than a racehorse according to a sensational survey released today by betting giants Ladbrokes.
According to 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.
Less than one in three punters knew who John Bercow (32%), Leader of the House of Commons, was when asked last week.
The bookies asked over a thousand of their customers - including racing and political bettors - who they'd heard of and whilst household name racehorses scored highly punters wore long faces when it came to the politicians.
And the results will send shockwaves through Westminster as politicians continue to struggle to make themselves heard.
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.
"If he has ambitions of wielding power we suggest Mr Clegg saddles up for Cheltenham this week. The man in the street seems far more interested in what's going on in the paddock than in Parliament.
"Never mind the Gold Cup: If Kauto Star and Denman lined up at the Election we reckon they'd still give some of our politicians a run for their money.
"On this evidence our MPs have been left in the horse-box whilst the country gears up for Cheltenham."
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 NINETEEN 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."