The Times

24th December 2025

In a hurried world the word “ponder” gets a bad press. But it’s one of racing’s greatest pleasures and never more so than when baffling oneself over the potential outcome of this King George VI Chase, racing’s showpiece on Boxing Day.

It should be the greatest race of the winter and tomorrow Kempton gives us exactly that. Three miles, 18 fences, nine runners seven of whom you can easily see as winners and as for massive outsider Master Chewy, don’t forget that Blowers battled home at Exeter last week. Some spark backed him at 300-1.

We have Irish stars Gaelic Warrior and Facto To File, first and second in the best chase run this season as well as Banbridge and Il Est Francais, first and second last year’s King George VI. We have the seven year olds Djelo and The Jukebox Man, the former with 15 chases under his girth, the latter just three, but both equally impressive last time. Finally, youngest and maybe best of all, the six year old Jango Baie under the skilled hands of Nico de Boinville, the only King George winner to have had ancestors guillotined in the French Revolution

Here is the ultimate metaphor of racing as an Agatha Christie mystery solved in six minutes of galloping drama. Here are the Queen of Crime’s eight suspects assembled at the start – sorry – table. We don’t just know what they can do, we can watch it again and again. All sorts of people can spend hours predicting, pontificating and puzzling for it all to be resolved in just six hectic minutes round Kempton’s flat, demanding diamond of a track. Time spent pondering this year has been the most enjoyable I remember.

For these are terrific horses who bring great weapons to the table and while we can watch what they do at their best we have to guess how the conditions and rhythm of the race will affect them.

So what will make sense afterwards? Because sense it will, hard though logic might now argue against it. For instance why not a repeat of last year when the Joseph O’Brien trained Banbridge ran down the then French trained Il Est Francais? The case against Banbridge is that made little show in his two races after Kempton and his only show this season was finishing fourth of five in a two mile hurdle race three weeks ago. As for Il Est Francais, he is now trained in Gloucestershire, by Tom George, father of Chantilly based Noel but the move to Laurie Lee country was not apparent when the former French star faded out completely at Ascot a month ago.

Rule them out if you like. But remember that Kempton’s very level lay out demands an intensity of gallop not suited to many performers. Banbridge has been prepared especially for this day and Il Est Francais 5m 51 second demolition of his Kauto Star Chase rivals over the same track in 2023 was not just five seconds faster than Hewick’s defeat of Bravemansgame an hour later but quicker than any King George winner in the last ten years.

Stick to the official ratings and you can’t have either Djelo or Jukebox Man who at 164 and 156 are respectively 10 and 18 pounds adrift ahead of Gaelic Warrior’s 174 with Fact To File on 173 and only dual Gold Cup winner and Leopardstown specialist Galopin des Champs ahead on 176. Yet Jukebox Man was a brilliant winner of the Kauto Star last Boxing Day and both were spring heeled delights last time out and the epic battle as Gaelic Warrior and Facto To File in November’s John Durkan might have left its mark on those two wonders.

Gaelic Warrior was amazing that day, 20 lengths clear in mid race and then fighting back after Fact To File claimed him. But Fact To File was the cyclist clawing back huge deficit without company. With Il Est Francais and indeed Djelo and The Jukebox Man seemingly better close to the lead Gaelic Warrior will never have space behind him and, if Il Est Francais is on song will not even be leader. Unless the John Durkan has left its mark I think Fact To File will take him.

Unless, unless many things, but most likely unless Jango Baie shows himself to be the news superstar three miler on the block. It was only as a substitute for stablemate Sir Gino (now odds on to win the Christmas Hurdle half an hour before the King George) that he came down to two miles to win the Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and the way he finished at Ascot over 2m5f a month ago is the most impressive of all the recent memories.

So he has to be the murderer – sorry winner – unless. Unless the fences intervene, unless Fact To File and Gaelic Warrior are as superior as objective minds believe them to be. Or unless Harry Cobden can hit Il Est Francais into that 5minute 51 second rhythm that would put them all to the sword. A mystery to be solved and a race to relish.