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2026 King George VI Chase Preview
Boxing Day is a racing spectacular with numerous meetings, but the one race everyone looks out for is the top-class King George VI Chase! A race that is rich in the history of top-class winners, Kauto Star won the race five times, Desert Orchid won the race three times and other class winners like Best Mate, Kicking King and Long Run.
This is a Grade 1 Chase which is run over three miles at this right-handed Kempton track, and only the Cheltenham Gold Cup is more prestigious than the King George VI Chase.
King George VI Chase Information:
- King George VI Chase Past Winners
- King George VI Chase Trainer Statistics
- King George VI Chase Jockey Statistics
Our dedicated Kempton tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the King George VI Chase, but will also have predictions for each meeting at Kempton throughout the season, so be sure to head over there. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Kempton Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2026
How competitive is the King George VI Chase market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2023 when the race had an over-round of 110%. The race in 2009 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 121%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the King George VI Chase, the over-round has been 116%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £116 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 King George VI Chase Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the King George VI Chase Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run King George VI Chase races over the last 20 renewals:
- The Jukebox Man (5:49.13) in 2025
- Thistlecrack (5:53.50) in 2016
- Banbridge (5:55.20) in 2024
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the King George VI Chase next time out, then you would have backed a total of 5 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -7.77. Remember to bookmark the racing tips page to access the OLBG racing picks easily daily.
Over the last 20 renewals, it was The Jukebox Man, trained by Ben Pauling and ridden by Ben Jones, who set the fastest winning time in the King George VI Chase. That runner won the race in a time of 5:49.13 in 2025. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Mr Sam Waley-Cohen with Long Run who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 6:28.70 in the 2012 renewal.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
King George VI Chase Past Winners
Here are the King George VI Chase past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the King George VI Chase are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 5:49.13 | The Jukebox Man (IRE) 7yo 11-10 7/1 | Ben Jones Ben Pauling (GB) |
| 2024 5:55.20 | Banbridge (IRE) 8yo 11-10 7/1 | Paul Townend Joseph Patrick O'Brien (IRE) |
| 2023 5:55.75 | Hewick (IRE) 8yo 11-10 12/1 | Gavin Sheehan John Joseph Hanlon (IRE) |
| 2022 5:58.35 | Bravemansgame (FR) 7yo 11-10 11/4 | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2021 6:15.50 | Tornado Flyer (IRE) 8yo 11-10 28/1 | Danny Mullins W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2020 6:01.30 | Frodon (FR) 8yo 11-10 20/1 | Bryony Frost Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2019 6:10.13 | Clan Des Obeaux (FR) 7yo 11-10 11/2 | Sam Twiston-Davies Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2018 5:59.60 | Clan Des Obeaux (FR) 6yo 11-10 12/1 | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2017 6:06.60 | Might Bite (IRE) 8yo 11-10 6/4F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2016 5:53.50 | Thistlecrack (GB) 8yo 11-10 11/10F | Tom Scudamore Colin Tizzard (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the King George VI Chase have been based:
- GB: 17 winners with an additional 31 placings from 146 runners
- IRE: 3 winners with an additional 3 placings from 23 runners
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 3 runners
2025 King George VI Chase Replay
King George VI Chase Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the King George VI Chase over the last 20 renewals is Paul Nicholls, who has won the race eleven times, with those eleven winners coming from Kauto Star (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2011), Silviniaco Conti (2013 & 2014), Clan Des Obeaux (2018 & 2019), Frodon (2020) and Bravemansgame (2022). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the King George VI Chase is Nicky Henderson (3 wins). There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the King George VI Chase; David Pipe has sent a total of 13 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top King George VI Chase trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Nicholls | 34-11-20 | +28.45 | +19.17 |
| Nicky Henderson | 17-3-6 | -6.12 | -5.25 |
| W P Mullins | 9-1-3 | +20.00 | +10.32 |
| Joseph Patrick O'Brien | 2-1-2 | +6.00 | +5.30 |
| John Joseph Hanlon | 1-1-1 | +12.00 | +7.50 |
| Ben Pauling | 1-1-1 | +7.00 | +4.20 |
| David Pipe | 13-0-4 | -13.00 | -7.10 |
| Tom George | 8-0-1 | -8.00 | -2.50 |
| Philip Hobbs | 7-0-1 | -7.00 | -4.90 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 7-0-0 | -7.00 | -7.00 |
King George VI Chase Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the King George VI Chase over the last 20 renewals is Harry Cobden, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Clan Des Obeaux (2018) and Bravemansgame (2022).
Here are some of the top King George VI Chase jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Cobden | 8-2-5 | +8.75 | +5.14 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 7-1-3 | -0.50 | -0.65 |
| Nico de Boinville | 6-1-1 | -3.50 | -4.10 |
| Bryony Frost | 4-1-2 | +17.00 | +11.30 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 4-1-2 | +9.00 | +7.50 |
| Paul Townend | 3-1-2 | +5.00 | +2.92 |
| Danny Mullins | 2-1-1 | +27.00 | +15.80 |
| Ben Jones | 1-1-1 | +7.00 | +4.20 |
| Charlie Deutsch | 4-0-1 | -4.00 | -2.10 |
| Sean Bowen | 3-0-1 | -3.00 | -0.90 |
2026 King George VI Chase Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 1, 1, 1, 3, 2, 1, (2, 5), 1, F, 1, 1, 7, 2, 3, PU, UR, 3, 5, (3, 4)
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones, as you would expect them to do well.
- 20 / 20 (68%) - In a field of 2 - 14 (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (71%) - Break of 24 - 283 days (Last Place)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - In a field of 4 - 10 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (80%) - No bigger than 6/1 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Furthest ran 2m7f - 4m2f
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Achieved an RPR of 146+ (Season)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Within the first 7 of the market
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Ran in 3 - 22 races (Class)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - No bigger than 28/1
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Off a break of 18 - 146 days
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Ran in 2 - 6 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Achieved a TS of 122+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Achieved an RPR of 158+ (Class)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Not BR/GR in colour
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Not in a G3/Cl3 (Debut)
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Kempton racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the King George VI Chase. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
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101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
King George VI Chase Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +26.17, is when runners ran on Soft ground last time out.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 4 career wins in Jumps (Chase) races, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-34.
The course which has produced the most winners of the King George VI Chase is Haydock; there have been a total of 10 winners of this race who ran at Haydock last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 171 runners, while female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 1 runner.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the King George VI Chase:
- Village Star (5 Wins)
- Cadoudal (2 Wins)
- Dom Alco (2 Wins)
- Kapgarde (2 Wins)
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have been disappointed with multiple attempts but no wins in the King George VI Chase; that stallion is Old Vic, who has failed to produce a winner from 7 runners.
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Tornado Flyer in 2021, winning for W P Mullins at odds of 28/1 under the guidance of Danny Mullins. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 8 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2026 King George VI Chase, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.
Route to the King George VI Chase
Many trainers target races as preparation for the King George VI Chase. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - The Jukebox Man Haydock - 1st of 5 (8/11) | Betfair Exchange Graduation Chase |
| 2024 - Banbridge Cork - UR of 8 (16/1) | Bar One Racing Hilly Way Chase |
| 2023 - Hewick Galway - 14th of 22 (14/1) | Galway Plate |
| 2022 - Bravemansgame Wetherby - 1st of 5 (2/1) | Charlie Hall Chase |
| 2021 - Tornado Flyer Punchestown - 5th of 10 (18/1) | John Durkan Memorial Chase |
| 2020 - Frodon Aintree - 4th of 5 (9/4) | William Hill Many Clouds Chase |
| 2019 - Clan Des Obeaux Down Royal - 2nd of 5 (7/4) | BetVictor Champion Chase |
| 2018 - Clan Des Obeaux Haydock - 4th of 5 (11/1) | Betfair Chase |
| 2017 - Might Bite Sandown - 1st of 4 (4/9) | 188Bet Future Stars Intermediate Chase |
| 2016 - Thistlecrack Newbury - 1st of 5 (1/7) | bet365 Novices Chase |
Article Contributor Information
We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this King George VI Chase Preview are Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse racing tips team, looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
Darren Brett
Expert Guide
Andy Powell
Expert Guide
