Kempton's King George VI Chase: Declan Rix takes a close look at the big Boxing Day race

With the King George VI Chase just a week away, Declan Rix of attheraces takes a closer look at the main players in Kempton's big Boxing Day race....

The highlight for many over the festive period comes at Kempton on Boxing Day/St Stephen's Day (depending on which side of the Irish Sea you sit), the Grade One Ladbrokes King George VI Chase over three miles.

Right-handed around a pancake-flat course, Kempton can either present itself as a test of speed or stamina, depending on the pace of a race. Slowly-run contests can really suit those speed-favouring horses, obviously, but end-to-end-type gallops, especially over the King George course and distance where horses fail to get a breather in on the front end, mean you need a horse that stays well to win.

At the time of writing, 16 horses remain in the great race, including last year's one-two-three Bravemansgame, Royale Pagaille and Frodon, the latteralso a previous winner in 2020. Of the 16, four Irish-trained gallopers feature, Allaho, Galopin Des Champs, Gerri Colombe and Hewick, although it would be hugely surprising if last season's Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs was declared.

The Willie Mullins yard is, all being well, likely to be represented by the brilliant Allaho, who has been heavily backed in recent days, while the participation of Gerri Colombe is still unknown despite being well backed, or at least cut by bookmakers, at the end of November for the race. Should both Irish raiders line up, I couldn't help but think back to the 2015 King George won by Cue Card and see some resemblances to Vautour (2015 runner-up) and Don Cossack (fell two out when staying on well) about Allaho and Gerri Colombe, respectively.

Although at different stages of their careers where the King George is concerned, the nine-year-old Allaho reminds me a touch of a then six-year-old Vautour. Both in the care of Mullins and with that real touch of class and pace to travel around Kempton with consummate ease. Not only that, but like his former stablemate, of sorts, Allaho is a horse who also adjusts, jumps and runs down some fences to his left.

Around a right-handed track like Kempton, that isn't ideal, even though most of the jumping is done in straight lines around the triangular-shaped course. It's just a habit that can interrupt a horse's race and jumping rhythm. While stamina or a lack of was likely most to blame for Vautour's last-gasp 2015 defeat by Cue Card, the fact he went to his left throughout can't have helped either.

A lack of some tactical pace can't have helped in Don Cossack's 2015 defeat, the 2016 Gold Cup winner falling two out when looking to stay on. Before that, however, the Gordon Elliott-trained inmate had steadily lost his place on the final circuit as the pace increased, and was being squeezed and kidded along soon after six out and maybe even beforehand.

To be fair to the classy and strong-staying son of Sholokhov he was rallying, and still in with a chance of victory, but an eerily-similar type of run (hopefully without a fall) may well be seen by Gerri Colombe backers, should he line up on December 26. He, like Don Cossack, looks a strong stayer over 3m and is the type of horse who is favoured by a stiff finish.

We saw that last season when the seven-year-old won the Grade One Scilly Isles Novices' Chase (2m 4f) at Sandown and when staying on strongly to finish second in the Grade One Brown Advisory Novices' Chase (3m) at the Cheltenham Festival. At Kempton, though, Gerri Colombe won't have a stiff climb to engage his stamina further and may well be too far out of his ground to close down rivals late on. It's also worth noting he has gone left at times in his career, too.

On heavy or maybe proper soft ground, it's possibly worth rolling the dice and letting him take his chance, but slick conditions are likely to see his ability to travel and jump come under the sternest examination of his career against the likes of genuine top-class chasers Allaho and Bravemansgame. On the other side of that coin, mind, Allaho is having his second start back off a long lay-off, while Bravemansgame has disappointed so far this season.

Like the staying-chase division as a whole at the moment, there are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes about this year's King George, and that's before we have even mentioned fourth favourite Shishkin, a horse who may not jump off, hasn't had a run since April and jumped left plenty in his career.

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Impressive Betfair Chase winner and last year's runner-up, Royale Pagaille has clearly returned in great order this season, but he really does love Haydock - although he has won at Kempton - and is another horse who goes left plenty.

Two horses at bigger prices who are intended runners and worth mentioning are Hewick and The Real Whacker. While many of the above mentioned have a habit of going left, this pair tend to go the other way, the right way, if you will, where Kempton is concerned. The biggest issue with both is their well-being and unless you're associated with either horse, it's hard to know what kind of form they are in.

Hewick hasn't run since the Galway Plate 146 days ago, when disappointing, but is capable of going well fresh; would love decent ground and the likely small field.

The Real Whacker, on the other hand, we saw in the Paddy Power Gold Cup in mid-November, but he pulled up and was a huge disappointment. Post-race, however, it was reported that he struck into himself and was lame on his right fore so he does have excuses.

It's hard to see a horse winning a King George off a pulled-up effort, however, but he did have excuses at Cheltenham and I can't get away from how good he was last season as a novice chaser, where be beat Gerri Colombe fair-and-square in the Brown Advisory. The son of Mahler jumps and travels for fun, has a touch of class and toe, but is notoriously idle late in his races, so I'm not sure we've got to the bottom of him yet.

Furthermore, physically, last season he looked all legs and it's not hard to imagine him being a better and stronger horse in late 2023/2024. At the current prices of 10/1, he would interest me most, although Hewick at 25/1 is overpriced from an each-way perspective in a race that may only pay two places on the day, for all he's a far riskier betting proposition given he'll need nice enough ground to take his chance.

Declarations and the weather in the run-up to the race will tell us more in a contest that houses many questions, but while a small field may put off some, it looks like we will have a quality field on the day in a race that might be run at a sound and maybe even strong gallop.