'I would be first in the queue' - Paul Nicholls throws his support behind Nicky Henderson's campaign to save Kempton

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Paul Nicholls, the most successful trainer in the history of the King George VI Chase, said he would be “first in the queue” to support action against Kempton being lost for development.

On Monday, Nicky Henderson put out a call for “allies” to push back on Kempton potentially being taken on by a housing developer as it is “crucial” for jump racing. He added: “We'll have to jump up and down on this together and make a song and dance about it as we need to drum up plenty of support.”

Nicholls, the 14-time champion jumps trainer, put himself forward as a supporter of Henderson in attempting to move opinion away from building on Kempton, where the trainer has landed a record 13 King George VI Chases, including five with the legendary Kauto Star.

He said: “Of course I would be disappointed if we lose Kempton. It’s a fantastic track and it’s priceless for jump racing. Aintree wouldn’t be too dissimilar, but the ground at Sandown is always testing in the winter.

“The King George is a brilliant race, but they run lots of other important races there, too. Nicky has said we need to muster some support to keep Kempton – well, I would be first in the queue.”

Sandown hosted the King George VI Chase during Kempton’s redevelopment in 2005, while Aintree has also been mooted as a potential venue for the race should Kempton close with the course already hosting a Grade 1 fixture on December 26.

Kauto Star: raised the roof with his fifth and final King George win at Kempton in 2011

The possibility of Kempton being taken up for housing by developer Redrow has increased with the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill passing through parliament and set for royal assent. The new law would provide enhanced powers for overriding local planning objections.

Trainers’ championship leader Dan Skelton highlighted the government’s push for more homes as being problematic for Kempton remaining as a racecourse.

“It's going to be hard to defend all these types of things because the government plans to build so many more houses and a lot of racecourses, Kempton in particular, are on a perfect plot of land,” he said. “We just have to try to stand together and protect what we've got.

“It's hard to defend racecourses because we don't own them – they're owned by groups and other people – and if the decision is to sell, then what can we do about it? They're talking about whether we'll lose Kempton, but we are going to lose it. It's just a question of time. We've all got to accept that.

“How the Jockey Club does that is going to be an exercise in PR for them because there are going to be a lot of unhappy people.”

The benefits of Kempton as a course for jumps horses in the winter was highlighted by Joe Tizzard, whose father Colin won back-to-back King George VI Chases with Cue Card and Thistlecrack.

“It would be a desperate shame to lose Kempton,” he said. “It's a proper Grade 1 jumping track and they provide very good ground. I've ridden in a few King Georges, and we've also won a couple, and it would be a great shame to lose it.”

Read more on the Kempton crisis:

'We'll have to jump up and down on this together' - Nicky Henderson sounds rallying cry to save Kempton's future 

'An act of cultural vandalism' - why Kempton's closure would be a disaster for Christmas racing 

Bombshell announcements, trainer outcry and scaled-back plans - a timeline of the threat to Kempton Park racecourse 

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