Venetia Williams’ chaser can follow the route taken by greats such as Arkle and Burrough Hill Lad to Kempton’s big prizeIt was good enough for the likes of Arkle and Burrough Hill Lad, but a prep run in a handicap before the King George VI Chase has very much fallen out of favour in recent decades with just two horses having won the Boxing Day feature in the last 24 years on the back of an outing in handicap company.One of them, however, was Venetia Williams’s Teeton Mill, who took what was then the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury in November 1998 and followed up at Kempton a few weeks later, and the same trainer’s L’Homme Presse has an obvious...
The grey runner looks overpriced to give Willie Mullins his second win in the big Boxing Day race, 20 years on from his firstSix of the nine runners for the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day have at least one Grade One win to their name already and five are expected to start single-figure odds, so the 2021 running of Kempton Park’s showpiece event has fair claims to be not only the strongest renewal this century but also the most competitive.Two serious contenders from Ireland - including Minella Indo, last season’s Gold Cup winner – add to the depth in a race that has not crossed the water since Kicking King’s second win in 2005, and Rachael Blackmore’s mount...
Paul Nicholls’ chaser set to win the jumping midwinter championship for a third consecutive year at KemptonCyrname has another go at his stablemate Clan Des Obeaux (3.00) but the outcome of Saturday’s King George VI Chase may be the same as last year, with Clan set to win the midwinter championship for a third consecutive year. Odds of 2-1 are not at all bad for a horse who is so obviously suited by this course, distance and time of year, but reflect the fact that Paul Nicholls has made a determined effort to improve Cyrname’s chance this time.While he emptied himself in beating Altior in his prep race last year, Cyrname had a less taxing round in the Charlie Hall...
Jump racing fans can look forward to a full week of top-class action, packed with clues for the Cheltenham Festival in MarchSaturday 26thThe best part of Christmas, if you’ve any interest in horse racing, comes on Boxing Day with the King George VI Chase, the midwinter championship of steeplechasing. It’s the race that made stars of Desert Orchid and Kauto Star, who won it nine times between them, and those of us who have been around long enough get rheumy-eyed over memories of Silver Buck, Wayward Lad and many others. Related: Cheltenham new year card behind closed doors under new Covid rules #ExpertEye: Our team give mentions to Elixir D'Ainay and Captain Guinness, both unfortunate in the @SkyBet Supreme Novices'...
Henry de Bromhead seeks more information before committing two of his best horses to racing in Britain this weekHenry de Bromhead expects to learn on Tuesday whether he will be allowed to send over runners for Kempton’s Christmas Festival, but still wishes to do so if the Irish government will allow his horses and staff to make the return journey, a 48-hour travel ban from Britain having been imposed on Sunday. The County Waterford trainer has chosen a difficult year to have his first runner in the King George but Monalee would have an obvious chance in the Boxing Day feature if allowed to compete, having been beaten less than two lengths in the Gold Cup in March. Related: Talking...