2022 King George Chase Ante-Post Preview – DS
2022 King George Chase Ante-Post Tip
In 2021 Tornado Flyer did the job for us in the King George in emphatic style at 33/1. Unfortunately, the defending champ won’t be back to defend his crown this year but nevertheless, it still looks like being a star studded renewal. Hopefully Dave Stevos can find the winner again, check out his 2022 King George Chase ante-post preview and tip below.
2022 King George Chase
At the time of writing, 13 horses remained in the field for the 2022 King George Chase. Paul Nicholls has won this race a record 12 times and he holds a strong hand in his bid to complete the baker’s dozen. Bravemansgame currently heads the market for the Ditcheat handler at 6/4 and he also has Hitman (4/1), Frodon (16/1) and Pic D’Orhy (50/1) in the race.
The favourite, Bravemansgame, has been near flawless over fences. His sole hiccup came last season at Aintree when he flopped behind Ahoy Senor on his last start of the season. A wind-op in the off season suggests he made a respiratory noise in that race and he looked as good as ever when landing the Charlie Hall at Wetherby by 3.5L from Eldorado Allen on his comeback.
The son of Brave Mansonnien won the G1 Novice on this card last year and he holds obvious claims. However, the big worry for ante-post bettors would be the possibility of testing ground. Bravemansgame was pulled at Cheltenham on account of soft ground and if it was anywhere near heavy, I don’t think he’d run. Given how the weather has been, it’ll probably be fine for him but you can never be sure when it comes to British weather.
Hitman Highly Talented
I’ve been a big Hitman fan for quite a while now. I loved how he ran in the Tingle Creek last season over an inadequate trip and he also ran a huge race behind Fakir D’oudairies at Aintree over 20f. The 6yo son of Falco earned a confidence boosting win at Haydock (21f sft) last time and the King George was nominated as his most likely next target. This highly talented individual has never raced beyond 21f so this trip is a question mark.
His pedigree raises doubts about the suitability of 24f. Hitman is by Falco and the vast majority of his winners as a sire have come at between 16f and 20f. Hitman’s dam was a two time 16f hurdle winner and the furthest any horse has won over on the dam side of his pedigree is 21f. He is a strong traveller and an excellent jumper, but this trip of 24f has to rate as a big worry. On the plus side, soft or good ground would be fine for him. However, given the stamina doubts, 4/1 looks short enough,
Soft Ground A Must For Presse
Splitting the two Nicholls’ big guns is another top quality horse, L’Homme Presse. This fella is a classy operator and I was a bit surprised to see him start back against some seasoned handicappers in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle. However, the 6/4 shot won much easier than the winning distance of a length suggests, an impressive performance when carrying a 12 stone burden.
This is another horse I rate extremely highly. Like Bravemansgame, he was probably over the top when suffering his sole chasing defeat at Aintree behind Ahoy Senor. He previously beat the same horse easily in the G1 Novice at Cheltenham (24f sft) and that is the form I’d be putting more stock in. However, connections have stated explicitly that he won’t run unless it is soft so unless you have a crystal ball to see what the weather does, he is a risky 2022 King George Chase ante-post bet at 7/2.
Irish Hopes
The King George has not been a happy hunting ground for Irish horses in the past. Since Cottage Rake in 1948 only Arkle (1965), Captain Christy (1974/75), Florida Pearl (2001) and Tornado Flyer (2021) have managed to win this race. This year, Irish hopes will be resting on the shoulders of Envoi Allen. Trained by Henry De Bromhead, this enigmatic 8yo has all the ability in the world. It’s just that sometimes, he doesn’t show it.
He tends to mix the brilliant with the decidedly average. His seasonal comeback fitted the former description as he landed the Champion Chase at Down Royal (24f yld). However, three of his four previous runs saw him lose by 8.75L, 13L and 14.5L (all over shorter trips) so his supporters will be hoping this 24f trip brings about a bit more consistency. He goes on any ground though, so that is at least one less thing to worry about.
Unlikely Runners
Both Protektorat, an impressive winner at Haydock last time and Noble Yeats, who hacked up at Aintree, look like unlikely participants at this stage. The Waley Cohen’s nominated Lingfield as Noble Yeats’ next most likely destination and the Skeltons also stated that Lingfield or Cheltenham would be Protektorat’s next assignment.
Frodon looks likely to take his chance and if the ground were to come up good, he would surely have a place chance. In last season’s edition he was bang there until the closing stages on unsuitably soft ground and he manged to hang on for 4th, 21L behind Tornado Flyer. He won the race on good to soft in 2020 and he is 3/5 at Kempton so if the ground did come up in his favour, you’d imagine he’ll go off shorter than his current odds of 16/1.
Allen Interesting At A Price
The one that appeals most at bigger odds has to be Eldorado Allen. Joe Tizzard’s 8yo made a very pleasing reappearance at Wetherby where he chased home Bravemansgame (25f sft). He has only got 3.5L to find with the 6/4 fav on that run and he had Frodon 7L back in 3rd when he finished 2nd behind Protektorat last time out at Haydock.
His last two wins saw him beat Royal Pagaille (and Clan Des Obeaux) at Newbury back in February and Hitman at Exeter in November 2021 (17.5f gd/sft). He is a consistent animal, finishing out of the first three just three times from fourteen chase starts (4 wins). On his sole previous run at Kempton he ran really well behind Mister Fisher over 20f on soft and he won’t be too concerned about what the weather does (won on heavy/good to soft). With the race likely to cut up, his odds are likely to shorten before Boxing Day so at odds of 25/1, Eldorado Allen is the each way, ante-post selection.
