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The Stan James Christmas Festival (Kempton Park) – The Stan James King George VI Chase

26-27 December 2006

The Stan James Christmas Festival

The Stan James Christmas Festival is usually a two-day horseracing event held at Kempton Park. The main event at the Christmas Festival is The Stan James King George VI Steeplechase, a three mile Grade 1 chase, which is held on Boxing Day and offers the winner £200,000 prize money. It is a key date in the jump-racing calendar and attracts a high number of leading horses and jockeys, and so is a popular event for those wishing to make a horseracing bet.

The Stan James Christmas Festival has a packed racing schedule that includes two other feature races, The Stan James Christmas Hurdle and The Network Design Feltham Novices’ Chase, provides ample opportunities for anyone wishing to gamble.

History of The King George VI Chase

The first King George VI Chase was held in February 1937 at Kempton Park, and was named in honour of the new monarch, who had taken the throne after the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936. It was won by Southern Hero.

The race was only run twice before Kempton Park had to close in order to receive prisoners of war, and in the early years it was not particularly popular, with trainers preferring to concentrate on The Gold Cup and The Grand National. In fact in 1937 and 1938 there were only four runners each year.

When Kempton Park re-opened after the war, the race was re-established, but the date was changed. The first time that it took place on Boxing Day was in 1947. However, it was not until 1948, when Gold Cup winner Cottage Rake was first past the post, that it became recognised as a major event in the horseracing calendar, and it was first televised the following year.

Previous Winners of The King George VI Chase

The fact that The King George VI Chase is a major championship race has meant that the winners have included some of the legends of horseracing history. The famous Arkle took the prize in 1965, Mandarin won the 1957 race and Pendil came first in 1972 and 1973.

A number of horses have won the race on more than one occasion, including one of the most well known horseracing names, Desert Orchid, who won the event four times (1986, 1987, 1989 and 1990).

Other horses to have won The King George VI Chase more than once are: Captain Christy (1974 and 1975), Silver Buck (1979 and 1980), Wayward Lad (1982, 1983 and 1985), The Fellow (1991 and 1992), One Man (1995 and 1996), See More Business (1997 and 1999) and Kicking King (2004 and 2005).

The race has been held at Sandown twice before. The 1995 race had to be cancelled due to bad weather and was held in January 1996 at Sandown. As a result of the switch, One Man, trained by Gordon Richards and ridden by Richard Dunwoody, holds a record for being the only horse to have won The King George VI Chase twice during the same calendar year. The 2005 race was held at Sandown due to redevelopment work at Kempton park.

The last five winners of The Stan James King George VI Chase were:

Betting on The Stan James King George VI Chase

The King George VI Chase attracts many of jump-racing’s leading names and competition is hot. Kempton Park has a flat and sharp track, which means that horses need both speed and stamina to win, and it places different demands on the horses from The Cheltenham Gold Cup race.

However, this year’s move to Sandown provides other challenges – the course features some testing jumps, particularly The Railway Fences, which come in quick succession. For an idea of the horses that run well over this type of track, it may be worth keeping your eye on the results of The Mitsubishi Shogun Tingle Creek Chase at the beginning of December.

The Stan James Christmas Hurdle

This is a Grade 1 hurdle with prize money of £100,000. Previous winners include: Harchibald (2004), Intersky Falcon (2003 and 2002) and Landing Light (2001).

The Network Design Feltham Novices’ Chase

This is a three-mile Grade 1 chase. Previous winners include Ollie Magern (2004), Strong Flow (2003), Jair du Cochet (2002), Maximise (2001) and Bacchanal (2000).

Betting on Horseracing Events – Further Information

The Stan James King George VI Steeplechase is just one of many events in the horse racing calendar. Check out the other forthcoming events!

If you want to bet on the Stan James King George VI Steeplechase, or on any of the other races taking place at The Stan James Christmas Festival, but want tips on how to bet on horse racing - visit the Horse Racing – How To Bet section.

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