This year’s King George VI Chase has the potential to be one of the best renewals of the contest at Kempton for a number of years. If the best novices of last season all line up against the more experienced chasers in the division, it should be a great encounter.
Clan Des Obeaux is the early favourite with the bookmakers at 5/1 to prevail for the third straight year. Paul Nicholls’ runner has produced his best form in this race over the last couple of years so a hat-trick of crowns cannot be ruled out.
The eight-year-old’s victory in the 2019 King George was an emphatic success as he scored by 21 lengths. Although the field was only made up of five runners, it included Cyrname and Lostintranslation, who proved no match for the defending champion.
Clan Des Obeaux was unable to complete an impressive double last season in the Cheltenham Gold Cup at the Festival, he had to settle for eighth place in the Blue Riband event at Prestbury Park. He is still waiting for his first win at the Gloucestershire course which does not appear to suit him.
Nicholls’ star runner is likely to have one appearance before his hat-trick bid on Boxing Day. This outing could come at Down Royal once again but do keep an eye out on today’s horse racing results from Paddy Power as his first start may be earlier this year.
Champ Set for Opening Campaign out of Novice Company
Champ was one of the stars of the novice chase division last season. He capped off his campaign with victory in the RSA Chase at the Festival back in March.
Nicky Henderson runner is lightly raced over fences where he has three wins from his four chase starts so far in his career. His sole defeat came at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day where he was clear of his rivals approaching the last before coming down at the final obstacle.
The RSA Chase was a hotly contested affair in 2020. Minella Indo and Allaho also went into the race with big reputations, but it was Henderson’s horse who powered home up the hill to get the better of the pair.
Champ is 8/1 to win the King George on his first attempt. Those odds could shorten if he makes a winning reappearance in the 2020/21 campaign so look out for all the latest horse racing news in the opening stages of the new season.
Lostintranslation Has Chance to Make Up for Last Year’s Disappointment
Lostintranslation was pulled up for the first time in his career at the 2019 King George in what was a below-par performance. He was given a wind operation after that race and on the evidence of his run in the Gold Cup, it seems to have done the trick.
The 2019 Betfair Chase winner was third in the Blue Riband event at the Cheltenham Festival behind Al Boum Photo and Santini respectively. This achievement gives connections optimism that their horse can be a big player in the leading 3m+ races next season.
Tizzard’s chaser is 8/1 to put his disappointing appearance in the feature race of the festive period behind him by landing the spoils in 2020.
With Santini, Allaho, Cyrname and Kemboy also likely to appear, there will be a long list of horses who go into the 3m race with strong claims.
