Henderson: Might Bite will have to produce a personal best to win again

3.05 Kempton
32Red King George VI Chase (Grade 1) | 3m, 4yo+ | ITV/RTV

Nicky Henderson feels last season’s 32Red King George VI Chase winner Might Bite will have to produce a career-best performance to strike again in what he believes is a much stronger renewal.

Might Bite defeated Double Shuffle by a length in the Christmas showpiece before a Gold Cup second and Aintree Bowl demolition to finish the campaign, but disappointed on his return to action last month.

The son of Scorpion trailed in last of five in the Betfair Chase and has to reverse the form with all four reopposing rivals in a red-hot renewal.

Jumping proved a particular downfall for Might Bite over the contentious Haydock fences but Henderson reports The Knot Again Partnership-owned chaser to have schooled well since.

Henderson said: “This is a top-class race, much stronger than last year, and he’ll have to produce a personal best to win, but he’s one of several who have a very good chance.

“Everything has gone to plan since Haydock and he’s schooled very well three times – he always has been a very good jumper.”

The Seven Barrows team landed the race twice with Long Run in 2010 and 2012 but Henderson is under no illusions at the task awaiting Might Bite and feels there is a very open nature to the £250,000 race.

Henderson said: “I can see Politologue staying, and he’s a good horse, while I have a lot of respect for Colin Tizzard’s two horses and in particular I feel Thistlecrack could run very well.

“Bristol De Mai was very good at Haydock and we could get the same result as there or a rather different one.

“There are any amount of conclusions and it’s a race to look forward to.”

PROS: Last year’s winner has the class, high cruising speed and stamina to suit this contest

CONS: Has to bounce back from a disappointing return to action at Haydock and jump more efficiently

Bristol faces that £1m question again

Some have nicknamed him Haydock De Mai but the seven-year-old named Bristol De Mai has plenty of good winning form on other tracks, just not Kempton.

Four of his ten career successes have been at Haydock but the winner of the Grade 1 Scilly Isles at Sandown as a novice has only raced once at Kempton.

That was a year ago, when blowing his £1 million Jockey Club Racecourses' bonus chance for winning the Betfair, King George and Gold Cup, which is again on the line after his Betfair repeat at the expense of four reopposing rivals who are all shorter in the betting than him, including favourite Might Bite.

After his King George sixth, Bristol De Mai was found to have stomach ulcers after an uncharacteristic round of jumping errors from a horse who, ironically, jumped Gold Cup winner Native River and his other rivals into the ground over the criticised larger fences in the Betfair Chase at Haydock

Trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies said: "All's fine with him – he has tested clear of ulcers, which have been a problem in the past, and he's been going very well at home.

"In last year's race he hit one fence hard, which seemed to ruffle him a bit. Hopefully this year he can copy his Haydock performance."

That would set up a £1m bid at Cheltenham, where he has yet to win in three visits.

PROS: Trounced his main rivals in the Betfair Chase on his seasonal return

CONS: Was firmly put in his place by Might Bite and co in this race last year

Miles more to come from Politologue?

Politologue has his own million pound question to answer. Does he stay three miles?

Phoning a friend in his trainer Paul Nicholls and the answer is a firm yes, with even the almost assured fast pace adding to confidence in last year's Tingle Creek winner emulating great stablemate Kauto Star in doing the unusual double.

"I'm sure he's going to get the trip around Kempton," said Nicholls aiming for an unprecedented tenth win in the race.

Then asked about the worry of Politologue idling when he hits the front, Nicholls added: "In this better race he will get a tow into the race for longer so it shouldn't be such a problem."

Owner John Hales, who won the race with One Man twice in 1996 - the postponed 1995 running was at Sandown in January - is equally bullish, pointing to the addition of a tongue-tie in his last two races as a turning point in his seven-year-old finishing his races stronger.

Nicholls also warns not to write off his other runner and outsider Clan Des Obeaux, who was ahead of Might Bite but behind the other principals in the Betfair Chase.

"He's in good shape and doesn't need to improve too much to be in the mix, and he'll be better going right-handed as well," he said. "He could run a big race."

POLITOLOGUE

PROS: Plenty of tactical speed at Grade 1 level being a Tingle Creek and Melling Chase winner

CONS: Has to prove he stays three miles in a race guaranteed to have no hiding place with Coneygree, Bristol De Mai and Might Bite in opposition

Track concerns but Broom hoping River can go close

Owner Garth Broom is hoping for a big run from Gold Cup hero Native River despite concerns over the fairly sharp nature of the track.

Native River, trained by Colin Tizzard, finished a four-length second to the reopposing Bristol De Mai in the Betfair Chase at Haydock last month.

The striking chestnut finished third behind Tea For Two in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on his only previous visit to Kempton three years ago and would ideally be suited by a greater test of stamina.

Broom, who owns Native River with wife Anne, said: “I’m hoping for a big run and hopefully he’ll be thereabouts.

"We were very pleased with his Haydock run and he usually tends to get towards his peak by his second start.

“If he can get into a nice rhythm and start flying his fences like we know he can then he should run well, although there might be one or two a little bit quicker on this track, which probably doesn’t play to his strengths."

He added: “It’s a very strong race and it wouldn’t be a complete shock if any of the ten runners were to win – there are lots of dangers in there.”

PROS: Consistent, tough and top-class chaser who tends to improve for his return to action [won on his second start each season]

CONS: Concerns over whether he can be at his best at this track and could be tapped for speed when it matters most

Thistlecrack: landed this race in 2016 and finished third in the Betfair Chase on his return last monthCredit: Mark Cranham

Thistlecrack in good shape in bid for second King George

Thistlecrack defeated fellow Colin Tizzard-trained Cue Card when landing this race in 2016, and there was plenty of promise in his return to action when a place behind stablemate and King George rival Native River at Haydock.

A stress fracture curtailed his last campaign but owner Heather Snook is hoping the ten-year-old can build on his pleasing reappearance.

Snook, owner of Thistlecrack with husband John, said: “Colin feels he’s back as good as we’ve had him for a long, long time and this has been the aim for the last year.

“It was pretty good when we won it before and it would be a pretty nice day were he to win it again, but we’re not counting our chickens in any way."

She added: “We were quite happy with his Haydock run and although it looks to be the toughest King George renewal for a few years, it’s a challenge and a very nice one to be involved in.”

PROS: Encouraging return at Haydock to build on and landed this race in 2016

CONS: Unlikely to be improving at the age of ten and may find one or two too good

The Waiting could soon be over – Yorkshire chaser bids to make it lucky seven

Waiting Patiently indeed. It's 33 years since Yorkshire's last King George victory, when Wayward Lad gave the Dickinson yard its sixth win in seven runnings.

But Malton could be partying like it's 1985 thanks to the county's finest, who showed the south what he could do by landing a Listed event at Kempton last winter then pooping Cue Card's party with a stylish victory in the Grade 1 Ascot Chase.

That made it six out of six over fences for Richard Collins' exciting chaser, who oozes class with the smooth way he travels through races under Brian Hughes and looks still to have untapped potential.

Trainer Ruth Jefferson recognises this is much his biggest test and said: "It's a big ask but we're going to learn a bit about him.

"I couldn't be happier with him, his work is very good. I think his form is pretty good and it entitles him to take his chance."

Waiting Patiently will be racing over three miles for the first time but Jefferson said: "He's never really looked like he's stopping in his races.

"At Ascot he lost his rhythm because he made a little mistake and then he started idling a bit in front. You don't know until you try but he's bred to stay three miles and he looks like he will. He doesn't over-race, which will help him get home."

Waiting Patiently has been pleasing Ruth Jefferson on the gallopsCredit: John Hoy

Waiting Patiently will also be having his first outing since February, having been forced to miss the spring festivals with a setback and not had a prep run this season.

But Jefferson stressed: "He's always won after a break. They tell me you can't win a King George without a prep run but apparently only two have tried - and one of those came second, so I was told on Twitter the other day!"

PROS: Unbeaten in six chases, already a Grade 1 winner and looks still to be on the up

CONS: Has not run this season and has never tackled three miles

Glory day: Waiting Patiently gets the better of an epic duel with Cue Card at AscotCredit: Mark Cranham

Clear run with Coneygree

If Coneygree could win the King George VI Chase it would not quite be in the realms of a Christmas miracle, but it would be a heartwarming tale for the assembled masses at Kempton and beyond.

The fragile 11-year-old is a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, but since that magical day in March 2015 he has struggled to stay sound, making the racecourse only six times.

But he rolled back the years last time at Cheltenham with a bold jumping display to finish a fine third in a Grade 3 handicap chase.

More, however, will be required to trouble the main players at Kempton.

Sean Bowen, who partnered Coneygree for the first time at Cheltenham, keeps the ride. In doing so he gets his maiden experience of the King George.

"I'm looking forward to it," said Bowen. "He came out Cheltenham well, I schooled him the other day and he schooled really well.

"He's had his problems but they've had a clear run from his last run to this one, which is the main thing."

Double Shuffle aiming to go one better

Last season's runner-up Double Shuffle thrives at Kempton, with his last chase win coming at the track, though that was at this meeting two years ago.

Although the eight-year-old has officially had two runs this season, his opening effort in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby was rather inauspicious as it lasted only until the first fence, when he departed.

He returned to form when second behind Definitly Red at Aintree, and trainer Tom George is hopeful a return to his favourite track combined with better ground can help Double Shuffle potentially outrun his odds.

George said: "It was a bad start falling at Wetherby in the Charlie Hall. It was too soft for him the other day at Aintree but he still put in a good show.

"That would have put him spot on for this. He's as good as we can have him, loves Kempton, and good to soft ground is about right for him."

Third crack for Tea For Two

Tea For Two is another Kempton regular with three wins from five starts at the track. His other two runs have been in the King George, finishing third last year and fourth in 2016.

Rider Lizzie Kelly, who is aware of the size of the task facing the nine-year-old, said: "I'm looking forward to it. You've got to be in it to win it and if he finished in the first four we'd be over the moon.

"He likes Kempton and ran a really good race at Huntingdon last time. He feels slightly more rejuvenated than he did last year."

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