Kempton’s King George VI Chase Day tips – Copybet
Boxing Day is one of the busiest days of jumps racing in the calendar and Kempton Park is centre stage with a triple helping of Grade 1 action headlined by the King George VI Chase (14:30).
A strong field of eight runners will contest the main event, with the Kauto Star Novices' Chase (13:20) and the Christmas Hurdle (13:55) amongst the supporting races.
Our expert has provided his top three bets for the day's action with his NAP coming in the opening race for trainer Nicky Henderson.
Noble Park – Kempton
NOBLE PARK has taken extremely well to chasing for Nicky Henderson and made it 2-2 in this sphere with a comprehensive success at Lingfield in November over two-and-a-half-miles on good ground.
This track should suit him well and he's open to plenty more progress despite the handicapper putting him up 11lb for that latest win.
He meets fellow progressive types U Cant Be Serious, Barlovento and Secret Des Dieux in this more demanding contest now but the Seven Barrows inmate looks like one to stay on the right side of.
Kap Boy – Kempton
Olly Murphy and Sean Bowen are a duo worth noting and they could land the Kempton finale with KAP BOY.
The six-year-old was moved to this yard from Paul Nicholls' in the summer and made a winning start at Perth (2m4f, soft) in October off a mark of 109 when easily beating a couple of subsequent winners.
They then finished third in a competitive contest at Cheltenham's November Meeting behind Lavender Hill Mob from the James Owen team.
That amounts to another likeable effort and, nudged up 2lb, the return to this flat, right-handed track looks sure to suit well.
Banbridge – Kempton
The King George looks an absolute corker of a race, with eight runners and some absolute stars in the mix.
Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File give Willie Mullins a strong hand but they had a tough race in the John Durkan last time.
With Il Est Francais and Djelo, as well as possibly Gaelic Warrior, the pace could be fast. Arkle winner Jango Baie is challenging for favouritism and the race might set up perfectly for Fact To File this time, but perhaps the forgotten contender is last year's winner BANBRIDGE.
He was the only horse able to come after Il Est Francais 12 months ago and while 0-3 since, there are mitigating factors in those losses.
This race has a strong tradition of seeing horses come back and shine repeatedly. A first-time visor is applied now and Banbridge could pick up the pieces late on if this is run at a helter-skelter speed with Sean Bowen sure to be biding his time as he partners the 2024 winner for the first time.