Kauto Star to Face Lucky 13 in King George Chase

Monday's forfeit stage now leaves us with a solid field of 13 plus Kauto Star as the Paul Nicholls charge bids for his unprecedented fifth King George Chase. The Kempton Boxing Day feature is easily the most anticipated National Hunt race of the holiday festival season and jumps racing fans worldwide are hoping this one beats the freeze. 

Kauto Star scored on his one run this season at Down Royal, tackling a solid field including Sizing Europe and Mouse Morris' China Rock. It will be straight to Cheltenham for Kauto if he triumphs on Boxing Day. 

Sizing Europe will take his second effort at the legendary French gelding and he's getting some lukewarm attention at this early stage, priced around a 12/1 margin with most major bookmakers. 
 

The major play, aside from the obvious, appears to be Long Run and the Nicky Henderson charge is the only other contender currenly floating at an odds-on price. You have to wonder about the seriousness of his claims as a five year-old who can't beat Little Josh or Weapon's Amnesty over the Cheltenham surface will struggle against Kauto over Kempton, provided Kauto runs an error-free race. It's tough to take Long Run at 5/1 with mere novice chase scores to his credit. 
 

Forpadydeplasterer will definitely take money on the day and this Irish jumper has always been a real fan-favourite. A Kauto Star/Forpady double looks like a decent payer- a fact made all the more likely by Thomas Cooper's charge finishing second in his past seven straight races. 
 

Nacarat and Riverside Theatre both float around 12/1 but it's more than likely that these two are competing in the place-only market. 
 

Albertas Run could spring a surprise and there is a group of punters who appear to be confident that we haven't seen the bottom of him yet. With Tony McCoy possibly taking the mount for this one, we could see some solid action on the each-way. 
 

Kauto at 10/11 looks like a popular way to double up the Christmas money. History could be made again and it look like we're only a week out!