Staged at Kempton Park racecourse on Boxing Day (26th Dec) the King George VI Chase is the highlight contest on the festive racing calendar as ‘once-a-year' punters try and get their Christmas turkeys paid for by the bookies.
With star names like Desert Orchid, One Man and, more recently, Kauto Star, who won the King George Chase a staggering five times, amongst the household names to land this decent pot then the 3m Grade One race never fails to attract the best longer distance chasers in training, while it's also seen as a good guide to that season's Cheltenham Gold Cup.
We take a look back at recent winners and highlight the key stats to take into the 2020 renewal – this year run on Saturday Dec 26th, where the Paul Nicholls-trained Clan Des Obeaux will be trying to defend his crown and win the race for a third time.
Past King George VI Chase Winners
2019 – Clan Des Obeaux (11/2)
2018 – Clan Des Obeaux (12/1)
2017 – Might Bite (6/4 fav)
2016 – Thistlecrack (11/10 fav)
2015 – Cue Card (9/2)
2014 – Silviniaco Conti (15/8 fav)
2013 – Silviniaco Conti (7/2)
2012 – Long Run (15/8 fav)
2011 – Kauto Star (3/1)
2010 – Long Run (9/2)
2009 – Kauto Star (8/13 fav)
2008 – Kauto Star (10/11 fav)
2007 – Kauto Star (4/6 fav)
2006 – Kauto Star (8/13 fav)
2005 – Kicking King (11/8 fav)
2004 – Kicking King (3/1 fav)
2003 – Edredon Bleu (25/1)
2002 – Best Mate (11/8 fav)
Note: The 2005 renewal was staged at Sandown Park
King George VI Chase Trends
16/18 – Had raced within the last 5 weeks
16/18 – Had won a Grade One chase before
16/18 – Finished in the top three last time out
16/18 – French (12) or Irish bred (4)
15/18 – Returned 9/2 or shorter in the betting
15/18 – Placed favourites
15/18 – Had won over 3m or further (fences) before
14/18 – Officially rated 169 or higher
14/18 – Aged 8 or younger
11/18 – Winning favourites
11/18 – Won last time out
11/18 – Had won a race over fences at Kempton before
10/18 – Ran in the Betfair Chase (Haydock) last time out
10/18 – Aged 6 or 7 years-old
9/18 – Trained by Paul Nicholls (11 times in all)
8/18 – Won by a previous winner of the race
2/18 – Won by an Irish-based yard (only 3 in the last 34 runnings)
Colin Tizzard and Nicky Henderson have trained 5 of the last 10 winners (2 Tizzard, 3 Henderson)
The average winning SP in the last 18 years is 4/1
RACING AHEAD VERDICT: Another decent renewal of the King George – but it does seem to look a race of two halves, with the current champ Clan Des Obeaux, Cyrname, Santini and Lostintranslation the main players of the 9 runners. Cyrname is the clear top-rated in the field (176), and has 5lbs in hand on his stablemate Clan Des Obeaux, but it's hard to forget his run in this race last year when clearly not getting home. Yes, with another year on his back and the fact he won well over 3m at Wetherby last time out suggests he might be a stronger horse now and you certainly can't rule him out! Lostintranslation was pulled-up in this race last year too and was well beaten in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on his return. He's clearly a useful horse on his day, but he's got a fair bit to prove in my book and looks a horse that is better suited by Cheltenham. Santini was a surprise addition to this race in the week, but he's another that hasn't quite fulfilled his promise. He was beaten in the Many Clouds Chase last time out as favourite and I'm not sure the Kempton track will suit him. I can see him running on at the death, but just feel he might not have the pace around here to keep up during the first half of the race and that might be his undoing. So that leaves me with CLAN DES OBEAUX, the winner of the last two runnings of this race. He returned to the track with a fine second in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and should be spot-on for this now. He's a horse that seems to thrive at Kempton and he's still only an 8 year-old. He had Cyrname 21 lengths back in second in this race 12 months ago and even though it's hard to see a repeat of that sort of distance, in recent years the King George has been a good race for past winners and I think it will be more of the same here. Of the rest, the likes of Waiting Patiently and Saint Calvados could run big races if returning at the top of their games and of the two WAITING PATIENTLY (e/w) does look the dark horse in the race and was going well in the 2018 renewal of this until unseating Brian Hughes late on.
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