Monday 26th December, 2:30pm
Bravemansgame @ 7/4
L’Homme Presse @ 2/1
Hitman @ 4/1
Envoi Allen @ 7/1
Royal Paagaille @ 14/1
Fordon @ 16/1
view odds
*prices correct at time of writing.
Henry Beesley: Cornelius, it looks a cracking King George. Who do you fancy?
Cornelius Lysaght: I am a huge fan of L’Homme Presse and for me, everything points to him providing Venetia Williams with a first win in the race since Teeton Mill and Norman Williamson completed the double of the old Hennessy and the King George in 1998.
This race is all about star quality to my mind. The manner in which he progressed from a nice chaser off a mark of 128 at Exeter (winning at 5/2!) to the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham is really striking. You can clearly forgive Aintree, only three weeks later, but at Newcastle there were echoes of the brilliance of the great Denman at Newbury as he gave weight and a beating to some very useful rivals first time out.
He seems versatile in terms of distance and track and I’m really excited to see if will do it again and continue the rise to the top of a British-trained steeplechaser. One thing to add: I saw Venetia at Hereford this week – where she had two more winners, continuing the stable’s good run since the freeze – and when I asked about L’Homme Presse I got a bit of a ticking off for not asking about her other runner, Royal Pagaille! She’s convinced he’s no also-ran but I think there are more negatives than positives…
HB: So you think that L’Homme Presse will see off the Paul Nicholls challenge – it’s been Ditcheat’s race so often over the years…
CL: It is extraordinary to think that Paul is trying to extend his record-breaking winning run in the King George to 13 in 25 years. As well as Kauto Star who won five, there’s See More Business, Silviniaco Conti, Clan Des Obeaux and Frodon, some great names of the modern era there and it’s great to see the 2020 champion back. He and Bryony Frost were simply magnificent in two years ago when everything fell into place, and they were great in the Badger Beers, but it’s hard to imagine the horse will be quite good enough this time round.
Bravemansgame thrashed Ahoy Senor over track & trip on this card last year, so is well up to the challenge, and he breezed home from Eldorado Allen in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby. He is clearly a very good horse but I’m dubious whether he will be as good as L’Homme Presse whose credentials are stronger, especially after Newcastle. The question about Hitman is whether he is quite good enough at this level but the step up in distance is likely to suit and his trainer clearly knows what he is doing!
HB: And what about the Irish raider, Envoi Allen…
CL: The odds on offer about Envoi Allen are potentially very attractive – it’s not that long ago that he was considered the re-incarnation of Pegasus, but until Down Royal in November he’d not seemed quite the same horse since the fall at Cheltenham 18 months ago.
While he didn’t necessarily jump with the sort of precision that is required for a King George the other day, the de Bromhead team will have been working on that and he had Grade 1 winners Kemboy and Galvin. That was only his second try at three miles and in the first, he was PU and found to be lame so the distance could be key.
HB: Okay then, so how about 1-2-3 in the festive feature?
CL: I think L’Homme Presse, followed by Envoi Allen and Bravemansgame.
HB: How about the other stars on show at Kempton. Just the small matter of Constitution Hill and they’ve also added the Long Walk…
CL: Barring accidents, Constitution Hill looks home and hosed in the Christmas Hurdle especially as he completely kicked what looks like his main rival, Epatante, out of the park at Newcastle. Personally I hope that’s the case, not so much from a betting point of view but as a racing fan looking for the sport’s next iconic horse. I hope that the field is big enough and that Knappers Hill can be the each-way shout. The success in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton was terrific I thought.
HB: You need eyes everywhere over Christmas… what are you looking forward to across the water at Leopardstown?
CL: There are too many to choose from! I’m really looking forward to seeing Facile Vega, though on the 27th in what will hopefully be a slightly more competitive race than when making his debut over hurdles at Fairyhouse. In the valuable Handicap Chase on the same day, I guess Donkey Years has been trained with this in mind… and hopefully Galvin goes in the Savills Chase (28th). He ran like something was amiss behind Envoi Allen at Down Royal so his odds could well look tempting.
HB: What about the Welsh National? I know you love that race…
CL: I’m not sure conditions are going to be as testing as they often are. The clerk of the course was telling me that they didn’t have as much snow (to thaw) as they might have had nor have they had as much rain as some since the freeze-up.
That might be a question for the likeable The Big Dog but I just can’t seem to get him right, and Venetia has some big players but I’m throwing up a couple against the field. I thought that Ask Me Early ran a perfectly nice first race in nine months when third to Le Milos no less at Bangor. He is a very talented and potentially well-weighted type and has excelled on the track at Chepstow before. And in the excitement of analysing the Becher Chase result I thought that the staying on performance in fourth of Fortescue did not get quite the mentions it deserved.
Hopefully, that gives you plenty to think about with your Christmas lunch, Henry. Merry Christmas to all and I look forward to seeing you on the track in 2023!
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