The favourites for the 2021 King George VI Chase
With the flat season concluding at Ascot’s prestigious British Champions Day back in October, the National Hunt Racing season has once again taken centre stage and it was fantastic to finally see racegoers back at a jumps event when they turned out in their thousands for the Cheltenham November Meeting — the season’s traditional curtain raiser.
That was the first time spectators have attended a National Hunt event since the 2020 Cheltenham Festival and with coronavirus restrictions hopefully a thing of the past, fans of the sport will be looking forward to the big meetings set to come over the course of the next six months or so.
December is an exciting month with the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase and the Welsh Grand National both on the agenda, but it’s the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day that will garner the most attention from those looking for the latest horse racing results.
So, with anticipation for the Boxing Day Grade 1 outing already beginning to build, let’s take a look at some of the favourites currently leading the way in the betting market.
Clan Des Obeaux – 3/1
The favourite for the King George last year, Clan Des Obeaux had a poor start to the 2020-21 season as he failed to win any of his first three outings — which includes a third-place finish in this race. However, the Sir Alex Ferguson-trained horse ended the campaign in fine fettle, winning the Bowl Chase at the Grand National Meeting at Aintree before heading over to Ireland and beating dual Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo in the Punchestown Gold Cup. Yet to appear this season, the bookies aren’t taking any chances and have made the nine-year-old the short-priced favourite.
Chantry House – 6/1
Slashed into 6/1 after an impressive 37-length victory over The Big Breakaway in the Listed Future Stars Intermediate Chase at Sandown in November, Chantry House is certainly one to watch in the King George. That triumph over three miles last month means that the Nicky Henderson-trained seven-year-old, who is often at the fore of the fast horse racing results, is unbeaten in his last four outings, having finished last season with a 100% strike rate from three runs — including victories in the Golden Miller Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham and the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree. It will be interesting to see what route Henderson will go down this season, as the Gold Cup could be calling if they can land a victory on Boxing Day.
Frodon – 6/1
A horse that can never be ruled out, Frodon and his jockey Bryony Frost won the King George from 20/1 last year and given how fluently the nine-year-old jumped the Kempton fences in the three-mile race, it would be no surprise to see the Paul Nicholls-trained horse beat his stablemate Clan Des Obeaux and the rest of the field over the line once again. The trusty horse and rider duo have started this season well, making all the running in the Down Royal Champion Chase before rallying to a three-quarters-of-a-length victory over Galvin.
Minella Indo – 7/1
A key part of Henry de Bromhead’s success last season, Minella Indo was the star of the show at the Cheltenham Festival back in March as he landed a shock victory in the Gold Cup — rounding off an incredible meeting for the Irish trainer. A lot will be expected of the eight-year-old this season though, and despite coming home in third five lengths behind Frodon in the Champion Chase at Down Royal, he is still quite fancied in the King George ante-post betting. Envoi Allen, who was back in the winners’ enclosure at Down Royal, is close behind at 8/1.
