King George VI Chase

The King George VI Chase is one of the most important Grade 1 chases on the national hunt calendar. The race is run annually on Boxing Day at Kempton Park racecourse and tends to draw a field comprising the finest long distance Grade 1 chasers in the UK and Ireland.

The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 national hunt steeplechase. Entries race over a distance of 3 miles and are confronted with 18 fences during the course of the chase. Entry is open to national hunt racehorses aged 4 and older.

The King George VI Chase was first run in 1937, and was organised to celebrate the crowning of King George VI as the new monarch of Britain. The race was not run between 1939 and 1946, when Kempton Park racecourse was used as an internment facility for prisoners of war.

King George VI Chase Betting

Age: The last five race winners have been aged between 6 and 9, as have the majority of race winners of the history of the event. However, 10 and 11-year-olds do occasionally score in this race.
Odds: The antepost favourite has won the King George VI Chase every year for the last 5 years. This trend is largely the product of the brilliant performances put in by Kauto Star.
Jockey: Ruby Walsh has ridden the winner of the King George VI Chase in the last four races.
Trainer: Paul Nicholls scored with each of Kauto Star’s four wins in the race.
Race Tip: The King George VI Chase tends to produce multiple winners, with horses routinely achieving 2-3 wins in the race, which means the reigning champion merits a bet in this race and will usually be the antepost favourite. A decent place bet on the market favourite is probably the best way to approach this race.

King George VI Chase Winners

Some of the greatest racehorses in the history of national hunt racing have won the King George VI Chase. Included amongst the race’s most famous winners is Desert Orchid, who won the race 4 times, claiming his 4th victory at the age of 11. A number of Cheltenham Gold Cup stars have won the King George VI Chase in recent years, including Kauto Star and Best Mate. In 2009 Kauto Star rivaled Desert Orchid’s haul of 4 race victories, becoming the first horse to win the King George VI Chase four years in a row.

French trainer Francois Doumen has achieved unprecedented success in the King George VI Chase, having trained five King George VI Chase winners to date. Richard Dunwoody is the most successful jockey in the history of the race, having won the King George VI Chase on four occasions – a record that Ruby Walsh looks likely to break if his winning association with Paul Nicholls continues to produce results.

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