Whisper who dares? Punters latch on to Henderson ace for King George

Plenty of punters on Wednesday were hoping it will be third time lucky for Whisper when he renews rivalry with stablemate Might Bite in the 32Red King George VI Chase.

The Nicky Henderson-trained duo feature among ten remaining entries for Tuesday's festive highlight, and bookmakers reported support for Whisper, with William Hill cutting the nine-year-old to 15-2 (from 10), while Ladbrokes, Sky Bet, bet365 and Betfred trimmed him to 9-1 from the same price.

A 12lb hike to a mark of 169 for his close second to Total Recall at Newbury – a rise described as a "left hook" by Henderson – has limited Whisper's options for the rest of the campaign, and he will therefore again take on Might Bite, who beat him twice last term.

The first defeat was one of the most memorable moments of the season as Might Bite nearly threw away the RSA Novices' Chase with the race at his mercy, veering towards the stands, being headed by Whisper, then rallying to get back up by a nose.

At Aintree the finish was not so dramatic, as Might Bite made all to beat Whisper by two lengths in the Mildmay Novices' Chase.

Commenting on the market move, Hills spokesman Rupert Adams said on Wednesday: "Might Bite is the horse to beat and Whisper has got as close as any in recent times. We were particularly impressed by the performance in what was the Hennessy and he could just pull this off."

Owner Dai Walters is under no illusions of the size of the task Whisper faces, and said: "I think the handicapper has been a bit harsh, though it's equal weights at Kempton.

"Nicky is very happy with him but unfortunately he's got to run against Might Bite, who has beaten him twice. There's nowhere else for him to go. It looks like he'll go there, then the Gold Cup, and then possibly on to Aintree."

The New One (centre): could head to Kempton if the Christmas Hurdle entries cut upCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Entries for the other Grade 1 on Kempton's Boxing Day card, the Unibet Christmas Hurdle, will not be known until Thursday as the race was reopened having attracted an initial six entries.

Nigel Twiston-Davies will be keeping an eye on how the field shapes up, with gallant International Hurdle runner-up The New One a possible runner should the presence of Unibet Champion Hurdle favourite Buveur D'Air dissuade others from competing.

Speaking at Ludlow on Wednesday Twiston-Davies said: "The New One has come out of Cheltenham in great form and if Buveur D'Air frightens them off at Kempton we'll have to take a look. If it's an attractive proposition we'll go.

"Otherwise he'll go to Haydock [for the Grade 2 Champion Hurdle Trial on January 20] and we'll look towards the Stayers' Hurdle."

The potential for nearly 25mm of rain at Kempton over Christmas means soft ground is a possibility.

Although the forecast is mainly dry until Sunday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are forecast to be wet and windy.

Clerk of the course Barney Clifford reported on Wednesday: “We’re currently good to soft in the main, and soft by the lake.

“On Christmas Day there's a band of rain coming in which could produce 8-9mm, while Boxing Day is wet and quite windy, with 12-15mm possible.

“If we got the upper range of that forecast it would be nearly soft ground on Boxing Day.

“We’re looking at temperatures of a maximum of 11C and minimum of 5C over the Christmas period so shouldn’t have any problems.”

King George VI card

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