King George VI Chase

The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres), and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year on 26 December, and features as part of the course's Christmas Festival.

King George VI Chase
Grade 1 race
LocationKempton Park,
Sunbury, England
Inaugurated1937
Race typeSteeplechase
SponsorLadbrokes
WebsiteKempton Park
Race information
Distance3 miles (4,828 metres)
SurfaceTurf
TrackRight-handed
QualificationFour-years-old and up
Weight11 st 3 lb (4yo);
11 st 10 lb (5yo+)
Allowances
7 lb for fillies and mares
Purse£204,000 (2020)
1st: £116,178
King George VI Chase
2020
Frodon Waiting Patiently Clan Des Obeaux

The event was first run in February 1937, and it was named in honour of the new British monarch, King George VI. It was only run twice before World War II, during which Kempton Park was closed for racing and used as a prisoner-of-war camp. The two pre-war runnings were each contested by four horses. The winner of the first, Southern Hero, remains the race's oldest ever winner. After the war the racecourse re-opened, and the event returned in 1947 on a new date – Boxing Day. In the 1960s it was a handicap. [1]

The King George VI Chase is now the second most prestigious chase in England, surpassed only by the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Fifteen horses have won it more than once, Desert Orchid won it four times and Kauto Star won it five times. The race is currently sponsored by the Ladbrokes Coral bookmaking firm.

Records

Most successful horse (5 wins):

Leading jockey (5 wins):

  • Ruby Walsh – Kauto Star (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)

Leading trainer (12 wins):

  • Paul Nicholls – See More Business (1997, 1999), Kauto Star (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011), Silviniaco Conti (2013, 2014), Clan Des Obeaux (2018, 2019), Frodon (2020)

Winners
Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer
1937 Southern Hero 12 J. Fawcus G. Evans
1938 Airgead Sios 8 T. McNeill V. Tabor
1939 no race 1939–46 [lower-alpha 1]
1947 Rowland Roy 8 Bryan Marshall Fulke Walwyn
1948 Cottage Rake 9 Aubrey Brabazon Vincent O'Brien
1949 Finnure 8 Dick Francis George Beeby
1950 Manicou 5 Bryan Marshall Peter Cazalet
1951 Statecraft 6 Tony Grantham Peter Cazalet
1952 Halloween 7 Fred Winter Bill Wightman
1953 Galloway Braes 8 Bert Morrow Alec Kilpatrick
1954 Halloween 9 Fred Winter Bill Wightman
1955 Limber Hill 8 Jimmy Power Bill Dutton
1956 Rose Park 10 Michael Scudamore Peter Cazalet
1957 Mandarin 6 Gerry Madden Fulke Walwyn
1958 Lochroe 10 Arthur Freeman Peter Cazalet
1959 Mandarin 8 Gerry Madden Fulke Walwyn
1960 Saffron Tartan 9 Fred Winter Don Butchers
1961 no race 1961–62 [lower-alpha 2]
1963 Mill House 6 Willie Robinson Fulke Walwyn
1964 Frenchman's Cove 9 Stan Mellor Harry Thomson Jones
1965 Arkle 8 Pat Taaffe Tom Dreaper
1966 Dormant 9 Jeff King John Wells-Kendrew
1967 no race 1967–68 [lower-alpha 3]
1969 Titus Oates 7 Stan Mellor Gordon W. Richards
1970 no race 1970 [lower-alpha 4]
1971 The Dikler 8 Barry Brogan Fulke Walwyn
1972 Pendil 7 Richard Pitman Fred Winter
1973 Pendil 8 Richard Pitman Fred Winter
1974 Captain Christy 7 Bobby Coonan Pat Taaffe
1975 Captain Christy 8 Gerry Newman Pat Taaffe
1976 Royal Marshall II 9 Graham Thorner Tim Forster
1977 Bachelor's Hall 7 Martin O'Halloran Peter Cundell
1978 Gay Spartan 7 Tommy Carmody Tony Dickinson
1979 Silver Buck 7 Tommy Carmody Tony Dickinson
1980 Silver Buck 8 Tommy Carmody Michael Dickinson
1981 no race 1981 [lower-alpha 5]
1982 Wayward Lad 7 John Francome Michael Dickinson
1983 Wayward Lad 8 Robert Earnshaw Michael Dickinson
1984 Burrough Hill Lad 8 John Francome Jenny Pitman
1985 Wayward Lad 10 Graham Bradley Monica Dickinson
1986 Desert Orchid 7 Simon Sherwood David Elsworth
1987 Nupsala 8 André Pommier François Doumen
1988 Desert Orchid 9 Simon Sherwood David Elsworth
1989 Desert Orchid 10 Richard Dunwoody David Elsworth
1990 Desert Orchid 11 Richard Dunwoody David Elsworth
1991 The Fellow 6 Adam Kondrat François Doumen
1992 The Fellow 7 Adam Kondrat François Doumen
1993 Barton Bank 7 Adrian Maguire David Nicholson
1994 Algan 6 Philippe Chevalier François Doumen
1995 One Man [lower-alpha 6] 8 Richard Dunwoody Gordon W. Richards
1996 One Man 8 Richard Dunwoody Gordon W. Richards
1997 See More Business 7 Andrew Thornton Paul Nicholls
1998 Teeton Mill 9 Norman Williamson Venetia Williams
1999 See More Business 9 Mick Fitzgerald Paul Nicholls
2000 First Gold 7 Thierry Doumen François Doumen
2001 Florida Pearl 9 Adrian Maguire Willie Mullins
2002 Best Mate 7 Tony McCoy Henrietta Knight
2003 Edredon Bleu 11 Jim Culloty Henrietta Knight
2004 Kicking King 6 Barry Geraghty Tom Taaffe
2005 Kicking King[lower-alpha 7] 7 Barry Geraghty Tom Taaffe
2006 Kauto Star 6 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls
2007 Kauto Star 7 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls
2008 Kauto Star 8 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls
2009 Kauto Star 9 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls
2010 Long Run[lower-alpha 8] 6 Sam Waley-Cohen[lower-alpha 9] Nicky Henderson
2011 Kauto Star 11 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls
2012 Long Run 7 Sam Waley-Cohen[lower-alpha 9] Nicky Henderson
2013 Silviniaco Conti 7 Noel Fehily Paul Nicholls
2014 Silviniaco Conti 8 Noel Fehily Paul Nicholls
2015 Cue Card 9 Paddy Brennan Colin Tizzard
2016 Thistlecrack 8 Tom Scudamore Colin Tizzard
2017 Might Bite 8 Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson
2018 Clan des Obeaux 6 Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls
2019 Clan des Obeaux 7 Sam Twiston-Davies Paul Nicholls
2020 Frodon 8 Bryony Frost[lower-alpha 10] Paul Nicholls
  1. During World War II Kempton Park was closed for racing and used as a reception centre for prisoners-of-war
  2. The 1961 and 1962 runnings were both abandoned because of frost
  3. It was cancelled in 1967 due to foot-and-mouth restrictions, and in 1968 because of frost
  4. The 1970 running was abandoned because of snow
  5. The race was abandoned in 1981 because of snow and frost
  6. The "1995" race took place on 6 January 1996 at Sandown, having been postponed at Kempton due to snow and frost
  7. It was switched to Sandown in 2005 as Kempton was closed for redevelopment
  8. The "2010" race took place on 15 January 2011 after Kempton Park's 2010 Boxing Day meeting was cancelled due to snow and frost
  9. amateur jockey
  10. First female jockey to win the race

See also

References
  1. Arkle The Life and Legacy of Himself. Highdown. 2005. p. 201, 202. ISBN 1-905156-16-2.
  • Race Recordings
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