who wins the king george this year?

​Firstly, let’s hope all ten declared runners stand their ground come Saturday (Boxing Day). If they do all run, this season’s King George should be a better renewal to 2019 when Clan Des Obeaux ran away from a depleted field.
Obviously, with four runners Paul Nicholls has an outstanding chance of winning the race for the zillionth time and he’ll certainly turn-out the favourite. Though Clan Des Obeaux and Cyrname are his main contenders, do not rule out either Real Steel or Frodon, though personally I would not be running the latter as to my mind his prowess is jumping and Cheltenham brings that to the fore. For Frodon to have any chance at Kempton I feel Bryony has to be forceful on him and make it a strong pace, using his jumping to gain ground on his rivals. Remember, when John Francome was asked what horse in his opinion is the best jumper of a fence he has seen, he sided with Frodon, that is some compliment and the Nicholls team should take the hint and use his jumping to put pressure on the rest of the field.
But as much as I love the horse and no matter how beneficial it would be for the sport for Bryony to be the first female jockey to win the race, I do not think an end-to-end gallop suits Frodon. At Cheltenham she can get a breather into him, something very unlikely at Kempton. I do see him as a stayer, though, not a horse with the capability to quicken between the last two fences.
The obvious choice would be between Clan Des Obeaux and Cyrname, though Santini now comes into calculations, especially is the ground is very soft. I was mightily impressed by Cyrname at Wetherby and no one should doubt Nicholl’s ability to have him spot-on at Kempton despite not having run since early October.
Clan Des Obeaux is king around Kempton, whereas at Cheltenham he is constantly underwhelming. I sort of feel the same might end up being said about Cyrname. Of the two, on this occasion, I favour Cyrname, having tipped Clan Des Obeaux last year.
But the horse I most fancy, if he is not blocked by government restrictions from coming over, is Monalee. I thought he was unlucky in the Gold Cup, not that connections made a song and dance about it, when Santini wiped him out at the top of the hill. He finished fourth, running on, which surprised me, beaten by a similar distance to the ground he had to surrender when Nico de Boinville displayed his complete lack of gallantry toward a lady.
It is possible that government restrictions both here and in Ireland might persuade Rachel Blackmore to stay at home, which would be as unfair and annoying as when Shane Cross was denied the opportunity of winning the English St.Leger.
Lostintranslation is difficult to evaluate. Like Santini, he ran an absolute cracker in the Gold Cup and on that form alone he should not be an 8/1 shot. I suspect Robbie Power is right when he says Lostintranslation will be seen to better effect on good ground and as he is unlikely to get anything other than slow ground at Kempton it is hard to see him translating potential into performance. I wish there was a 4-mile championship chase in the calendar as Lostintranslation would be my idea of a good thing. Oh, by the way, there should be a 4-mile championship chase and it would make a brilliant contrast to the Tingle Creek if it replaced the dull and pointless London National.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Saint Calvados out-ran his long odds, or indeed Waiting Patiently, though it is stretching credulity to expect him to win first time out against hard-fit opponents. Even I do not possess the powers of imagination to give Black Op a realistic chance of even reaching a place.
I expect Monalee to win and hope Rachel Blackmore is the one giving the interview to Matt Chapman. I envisage Santini staying on for second, with Cyrname third.
If you think the King George is the race of the holiday period you are overlooking the Saville Chase at Leopardstown. If only half the entered horse line up it will be the best race thus far this season and though A Plus Tard would be an intriguing runner over 3-miles, any one of Acapella Bourgeois, Allaho, Delta Work, Fakir d’Ouderies, Kemboy, Melon, Minella Indo, Presenting Percy, Samcro, The Storyteller and Tornado Flyer, could be victorious. Of course, they all won’t run but all the same it is a race to look forward to.
Also, the Matheson Hurdle on the Tuesday looks a mouth-watering spectacle with Abacadabras, Aspire Tower Saint Roi, Saldier and Sharjah all likely to run.