King George Antepost Betting

It was a day to remember for Clive Smith as his colours were carried to Grade success at Ascot and Haydock on Saturday. Master Minded left behind his disappointing reappearance to record his second win in Ascot’s 2m3f Amlin Chase. Sent off the 2/1 joint favourite, he ran a solid race to beat Somersby by three lengths. The King George has always been his intended target and there is probably more to come. He is a best price 6/1 with Victor Chandler for the Kempton showpiece, cut from 10/1, although it will be the first time the horse has tackled three miles.

Remarkably things got even better for connections an hour later as Kauto Star rolled back the years to win a memorable Betfair Chase at Haydock. Sent off the 6/1 joint third favourite, Ruby Walsh made all on the two-time Gold Cup winner to see off Long Run by eight lengths. Paul Nicholls commented before the race that the horse was as fit as he could be and he was vindicated; talk of retirement for his stable star is now firmly off the agenda. The King George is a serious option for Kauto Star and he is a best price 11/2 with Victor Chandler having been a 16/1 outsider at the start of the weekend.

After a scratchy jumping display, Long Run slightly laboured on his seasonal reappearance with a performance that drew parallels with his display in last year’s Paddy Power. The suspicion is that connections have the King George and Gold Cup as their main targets for the season, something Sam Waley-Cohen alluded to in his post-race interview. Nevertheless, the bookmakers have pushed Long Run out in the betting, he is 13/8 (Coral) to retain the King George on Boxing Day having been odds-on.