Stan James King George VI Chase Betting Tips

In recent years the Stan James King George VI Chase, the Boxing Day showpiece of Kempton's Christmas meeting, hasn't been attracting a particularly good turnout in terms of numbers. In terms of quality, only the Cheltenham Gold Cup can match it, but it would be good to see a decent sized field go to post on December 26. However, the exciting Kauto Star is likely to scare quite a few off. The six-year-old has looked every inch a potential superstar in his two outings so far this term and dispelled any doubts surrounding his stamina when thrashing a quality field including Beef Or Salmon and L'ami in the Betfair Cup at Haydock latest. Paul Nicholls' charge is now in with a shout of collecting a cool £1million bonus for owner Clive Smith if he goes onto win this race and then prevails in jump racing's blue riband, the totesport Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Ten favourites have won the King George since 1988, a stat which bodes well for Kauto, who is a best priced 11/10 at Stan James at the time of writing. Chances are, Kauto Star will prove to be a bit special and, as such, will probably justify his price tag and go and win the King George in the style his odds suggest he might. But at the price the percentage call has to be to look elsewhere. And at 14/1 with StanJames, Celestial Gold rates a cracking each-way alternative. The eight-year-old is lightly raced for a horse of his age having had just 11 starts under Rules. But in his comparatively short career Celestial Gold has proved himself to be a versatile chaser, boasting solid form at trips ranging from two and a half miles right up to four miles. And, as the David Pipe-trained gelding demonstrated at Aintree in April, he goes well fresh and is at his best on a flat track. Indeed, the son of Persian Mews was effectively making his seasonal reappearance when taking the Betfair Bowl at the Grand National meeting, as he unshipped Timmy Murphy at the tenth fence in his only other start last term in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Therefore, his subsequent absence is no problem at all, while his best performances over trips of around three miles have been achieved at Aintree and Newbury, both of which are flat courses, as is Kempton. He will find Kauto Star an extremely tough nut to crack assuming that that horse runs his race and puts in a clear round, but Celestial Gold's good cruising speed, slick jumping and proven turn of foot will stand him in very good stead at the Sunbury venue. Ideally the selection would prefer genuine good ground, although if it's on the easy side that'll be fine. However, if underfoot conditions were to turn testing, I'd be a shade concerned as such a surface would blunt his speed somewhat. Monet's Garden has yet to race over further than two and a half miles over fences, but his best hurdling form was achieved over three miles. The grey demonstrated his class and versatility by failing by just over a length to beat Voy Por Ustedes in the two-miles Arkle Chase at the Chelteham Festival in March. Nicky Richards' charge was workmanlike rather than impressive when scoring at Carlisle on his reappearance, but will come on a good deal for that and rates a leading contender. Henrietta Knight's duo, Impek and Racing Demon merit plenty of respect. Despite the fact that Kempton's a pretty sharp track, I still have my reservations as to whether Impek will see out the three-mile trip, while Racing Demon has a bit to find if he is to land a King George in my opinion. He beat Thisthatandtother and Monkerhostin well enough in the Peterborough Chase last time, but the likes of Kauto Star, Monet's Garden and Celestial Gold will provide a sterner examination of his credentials. According to trainer Evan Williams, Hennessy Gold Cup hero State of Play is likely to by pass this in favour of a crack at the Red Square Vodka Gold Cup at Haydock in May en route to a potential at the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It also looks unlikely that Paul Nicholls will pitch Star De Mohaison against Kauto Star. If everything goes according to plan for both horses between now and the Festival, they'll probably have to meet there, but not before. Verdict - 1pt e/w Celestial Gold @ 14/1 (Stan James)