As is Boxing Day tradition, horse racing returns to Kempton and the spectacle that everyone is looking forward to is the King George VI National Hunt chase.
With this deemed as the festive horse race that gets people up and down the country invested in a Christmas flutter, here is a run down of this year’s nine runners.
L’Homme Presse (2/1)
Seven-year-old L’Homme Presse is one of the rising stars of the staying chase scene and has already moved ahead of experienced horse Bravemansgame as the favourite. The gelding has won five of his six novice starts, including the Grade 1 Brown Advisory at the Cheltenham Festival. He may lack course experience but his revised rating of 170 makes him one of the horses to beat.
Bravemansgame (2/1)
Like L’Homme Presse, Bravemansgame has won five out of six of his starts to date. He didn’t look at his best, however, when he lost out to Ahoy Senor at Aintree earlier in the year. He did bounce back with a comfortable victory against Eldorado Allen in the Charlie Hall Chase. In preparation for the King George VI, Bravemansgame has been looking good in his jumping, and he is definitely one of the strongest jumpers on the circuit right now.
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Hitman (6/1)
The six-year-old is another promising talent but he appeared to be flattering to deceive until he claimed an odds-on win at Haydock in November. This will be his first crack at a three-mile race and this will be a real test for him in terms of his stamina. But as far as recent meetings go, he has been travelling well and looks assured when arriving to jump fences.
Envoi Allen (15/2)
A horse that is no stranger to victory and was highly rated as a foal by Gordon Elliott. Envoi Allen appeared to stray after a change of stables. He has earned some recognised victories during his career including at the Cheltenham Festival. But in recent seasons form has been troubling for the eight-year-old as he has found it difficult to put two consecutive runs together. In this highly competitive field it is going to be a tough ask for Envoi Allen to triumph.
@CPStudOfficial's charge is a leading player for this year's King George @kemptonparkrace ⭐️
#RTVFlashback | @HenrydeBromhead
Royale Pagaille (16/1)
Royal Pagaille won the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock for the second successive season last term but could finish only fifth in the Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup and Betway Bowl at Aintree last time. The eight-year-old would need a career-best by some margin to win this on his reappearance. He prefers heavy ground and stable has a much more obvious candidate in L'Homme Presse.
Frodon (20/1)
Frodon has been a consistent performer in chase racing over the years and he continues to show that he still has a strong engine to run off. He defied a mark of 158 to win a valuable handicap at Wincanton on his seasonal return in November. The 2020 winner knows how to win in this particular race but he is up against a very competitive field.
Ahoy Senor (20/1)
After running this track 12 months ago, losing out to Bravemansgame in the Kauto Star Novices' Chase, Ahoy Senor gave a spirited performance but question marks still remain over whether this is in fact the ideal track for him. He has shown he can travel well but the biggest concern is his jumping and he will need to be a lot cleaner when taking fences, especially against an excellent jumper in Bravemansgame to contend with.
Eldorado Allen (25/1)
Eldorado Allen’s form this season has been promising which seems to suggest that he is improving as a stayer. He only lost out to Bravemansgame by three-and-a-half lengths at Wetherby, before a creditable second to Protektorat in very testing conditions in the Betfair Chase. That is something to always consider when picking a winner in this one. Might be worth an each way selection.
Millers Bank (40/1)
Millers Bank is likely to be the least-favoured backed horse by punters in the King George this year because his previous record at this distance at Punchestown in spring was far from memorable. Against the calibre of horses in this one, he has got to pull out an outstanding performance to pull off a huge King George VI upset. There is likely to be some improvement from his race at Punchestown, but there are too many doubts surrounding him at this moment in time.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Courtesy of Betfred
