Captain Chris Prepping for King George

After getting the season off to a rather inauspicious debut at Exeter it appears as though Captain Chris' next attempt will be against Grade 1 company, including the likes of Kauto Star and Long Run, in the 2011 King George.

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Sent off as the 2/1 favourite against a field of six, the Cheltenham/Punchestown double winner unseated pilot Richard Johnson at the last hurdle. He was definitely unlucky on the day – something that was noted in his performance sheet following the race. The seven-year-old son of King's Theatre had never unseated a rider before and was perhaps suffering from a case of nerves on his seasonal debut.

He will certainly go off at a tidy price for the King George and he does trade within the realm of outright contenders. Punters will find Captain Chris in the region of 8/1 – making him the fourth favourite from an outright perspective.

Master Minded will be representing the Paul Nicholls yard in this one and he's priced out at a very reasonable 5/1 listing while Kauto Star continues to draw most of the plaudits following his smashing score over Long Run in his opener in the Betfair Chase.

Obviously, the main plot line heading into the contest is going to be about whether Kauto Star can again get the better of Long Run – with a rematch in the Cheltenham Gold Cup looming as the final chapter. Denman being retired a week ago also means Kauto will be going it alone in the Gold Cup and that adds a little bit of spice to things as Kauto Star may be inspired to get one over Long Run for his now retired stablemate and next door neighbour.

Long Run continues to take the bulk of the money for this contest with a very slim 5/4 listing showing that punters not only have confidence in the mount but also in amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen. The young pilot will be allowed to ride Long Run despite being handed a twelve day ban for supposedly going the wrong way. Waley-Cohen had a different explanation, “To be honest what happened there was I thought he swallowed his tongue. When he landed he made a hell of a noise. He's had problems before and he normally wears a tongue tie but he didn't have it on.”

Other notable contenders include Somersby at 12/1, Riverside Theatre and Diamond Harry at 16/1 with Noble Prince trading at 20s.