The King George VI Chase at Kempton Park at 2.30pm on Boxing Day is quite simply the highlight of the Christmas racing programme. Charlie McCann presents his take on the race below.
Background and History
The King George Chase is a Grade 1 three-mile contest over eighteen fences for 4-year-olds and upwards. Since its first running in 1937, has been won by some of the greatest steeplechasers in the history of the sport including the incomparable Arkle (1965), the flying grey Desert Orchid (1986 & 1988-90) and the Paul Nicholls trained dual Gold Cup winner Kauto Star, the most successful horse in the history of the race with five victories from 2006-09 & 2011.
The race has a purse of £250,000 in 2023, with the winning connections picking up £142,375. As well as attracting the best of British chasers, the King George race has gone across the English Channel to France on five occasions, but not since the year 2000. There have been seven Irish-trained winners, the last being in 2021, when Tornado Flyer gave the legendary Irish Champion Trainer Willie Mullins a second victory in this great race.
The most successful trainer in the history of the King George VI Chase is Nicholls, who has saddled the winner no less than fifteen times, including with Bravemansgame twelve months ago. Both Nicholls and Mullins are back for more in the King George of 2023. Let’s look at some of the fancied 2023 King George runners.
The King George VI Chase 2023
Allaho (2/1)
The betting for the King George Chase was turned on its head when Mullins announced eight days before the race that his brilliant four-time Grade 1 winner Allaho would make the journey across the Irish Sea. This will be his first run at Kempton Park and only his second race since April 2022 having missed the whole of last season.
He didn’t impress everyone when making a winning reappearance in the Clonmel Oils Chase last month and there remains the suspicion that he is a better horse over a slightly shorter trip and has a propensity to jump out to his left. He might forfeit ground if he continues this trait given Kempton Park is a flat right-handed track.
Bravemansgame (11/4)
The result of the King George 2022 shows that Bravemansgame came home fourteen lengths clear of his field but that does not tell the whole story however, as he was only 3L ahead when his nearest pursuer came down at the final fence.
He has failed to recapture the brilliance of that 2022 King George VI Chase win in his two runs so far this season at Wetherby and Haydock, but his trainer is peerless when it comes to having them right for the big day.
Gerri Colombe (5/1)
Another possible Irish challenger is the Gordon Elliot-trained Gerri Colombe, but he is more likely to stay in Ireland and run at Leopardstown over the Festive period in the Grade 1 Savills Chase on the 28th of December.
Gerri Colombe’s Cup Final is the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March where his abundant stamina over that three-and-a-quarter-mile trip on a stiff undulating track will be crucial. This is more a test of speed, however, and I am not convinced that this examination will play to his strengths.
Shishkin (7/1)
Only the bravest of punters could support Shiskin for the King George VI Chase given he refused to race on his intended comeback run at Ascot last month. He has won thirteen of his eighteen career starts and is unbeaten in two starts at Kempton Park, but he has lost four of his last six starts and he, like Allaho, might prefer to race anti-clockwise.
In his pomp Shishkin was one of the great racehorses of the last fifty years and I have always thought that the step up to three miles would see him in an even better light. He showed his stamina for the trip when scoring at Aintree back in the spring, but why did he refuse to start in the Ascot Chase?
I have always considered Shishkin a King George VI Chase winner in waiting but backing him does now come with a risk. Is it a risk you are prepared to take?
The Real Whacker (10/1)
The Real Whacker is trained in Yorkshire by Patrick Neville, who has saddled just the one winner so far this season. This really is a David V Goliath clash with this small northern trainer taking on the superpowers on both sides of the Irish Sea.
He disappointed at Cheltenham on his reappearance, but he beat Gerri Colombe at Cheltenham back in March. This bold jumping frontrunner will be taken on for the lead by Allaho with Bravemansgame and Shishkin likely to be in the second wave.
Conclusion
The heart says Shishkin or The Real Whacker and I backed Bravemansgame in the King George last year! I do feel the bookmakers have got this right however, and it is ALLAHO to land the midseason highlight of the racing year, the 2023 King George VI Chase.
Prices are correct at the time of publication, but can fluctuate. Please Gamble Responsibly.
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By Charlie McCann
