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King George VI Chase
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race in the United Kingdom for four-year-old and above horses run over a distance of 3 miles (4,828 metres) at Kempton Park Racecourse on Boxing Day. There are eighteen fences to be jumped in the race. Prior to the re-development of Kempton in 2005, which included the removal of a water-jump, the race had nineteen obstacles.
It was first run in February 1937 and was named in honour of the new monarch, King George VI.
The race did not immediately earn the prestige it has today. It was only run twice before World War II, during which Kempton Park was closed for racing and used as a prisoner-of-war camp. The pre-war races only attracted four runners each - the winner of the first, Southern Hero, remains the oldest ever winner of the race.
After the war the course re-opened and the race returned in 1947 on a new date - Boxing Day. When it was won the following year by Cottage Rake, a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, the race rose in stature and in 1949 it was televised for the first time.
The King George VI Chase is now surpassed in prestige only by the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Many horses have won it more than once (nine between 1973 and 2005), with Desert Orchid, one of the most famous and popular winners, successful a record four times. Triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Arkle and Best Mate both also won this race, and in 2004 and 2005 the race was won by Kicking King.
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer |
| 1937 | Southern Hero | 12 | J Fawcus | G Evans |
| 1938 | Airgead Sios | 8 | T McNeill | V Tabor |
| 1939 to 1946 Kempton Park closed for racing | ||||
| 1947 | Rowland Roy | 8 | Bryan Marshall | Fulke Walwyn |
| 1948 | Cottage Rake | 9 | Aubrey Brabazon | Vincent O'Brien |
| 1949 | Finnure | 8 | Dick Francis | George Beeby |
| 1950 | Manicou | 5 | Bryan Marshall | Peter Cazalet |
| 1951 | Statecraft | 6 | Tony Grantham | Peter Cazalet |
| 1952 | Halloween | 7 | Fred Winter | Bill Wightman |
| 1953 | Galloway Braes | 8 | Bert Morrow | Alec Kilpatrick |
| 1954 | Halloween | 9 | Fred Winter | Bill Wightman |
| 1955 | Limber Hill | 8 | Jimmy Power | Bill Dutton |
| 1956 | Rose Park | 10 | Michael Scudamore | Peter Cazalet |
| 1957 | Mandarin | 6 | Gerry Madden | Fulke Walwyn |
| 1958 | Lochroe | 10 | Arthur Freeman | Peter Cazalet |
| 1959 | Mandarin | 8 | Gerry Madden | Fulke Walwyn |
| 1960 | Saffron Tartan | 9 | Fred Winter | Don Butchers |
| 1961 & 1962 abandoned due to frost | ||||
| 1963 | Mill House | 6 | Willie Robinson | Fulke Walwyn |
| 1964 | Frenchman's Cove | 9 | Stan Mellor | Tom Jones |
| 1965 | Arkle | 8 | Pat Taaffe | Tom Dreaper |
| 1966 | Dormant | 9 | Jeff King | J Wells-Kendrew |
| 1967 abandoned due to frost | ||||
| 1968 abandoned due to foot-and-mouth disease restrictions | ||||
| 1969 | Titus Oates | 7 | Stan Mellor | Gordon W. Richards |
| 1970 abandoned due to snow | ||||
| 1971 | The Dikler | 8 | Barry Brogan | Fulke Walwyn |
| 1972 | Pendil | 7 | Richard Pitman | Fred Winter |
| 1973 | Pendil | 8 | Richard Pitman | Fred Winter |
| 1974 | Captain Christy | 7 | Bobby Coonan | Pat Taaffe |
| 1975 | Captain Christy | 8 | Gerry Newman | Pat Taaffe |
| 1976 | Royal Marshall II | 9 | Graham Thorner | Tim Forster |
| 1977 | Bachelor's Hall | 7 | Martin O'Halloran | Peter Cundell |
| 1978 | Gay Spartan | 7 | Tommy Carmody | Tony Dickinson |
| 1979 | Silver Buck | 7 | Tommy Carmody | Tony Dickinson |
| 1980 | Silver Buck | 8 | Tommy Carmody | Tony Dickinson |
| 1981 abandoned due to snow and frost | ||||
| 1982 | Wayward Lad | 7 | John Francome | Michael Dickinson |
| 1983 | Wayward Lad | 8 | Robert Earnshaw | Michael Dickinson |
| 1984 | Burrough Hill Lad | 8 | John Francome | Jenny Pitman |
| 1985 | Wayward Lad | 10 | Graham Bradley | Monica Dickinson |
| 1986 | Desert Orchid | 7 | Simon Sherwood | David Elsworth |
| 1987 | Nupsala | 8 | André Pommier | François Doumen |
| 1988 | Desert Orchid | 9 | Simon Sherwood | David Elsworth |
| 1989 | Desert Orchid | 10 | Richard Dunwoody | David Elsworth |
| 1990 | Desert Orchid | 11 | Richard Dunwoody | David Elsworth |
| 1991 | The Fellow | 6 | Adam Kondrat | François Doumen |
| 1992 | The Fellow | 7 | Adam Kondrat | François Doumen |
| 1993 | Barton Bank | 7 | Adrian Maguire | David Nicholson |
| 1994 | Algan | 6 | Philippe Chevalier | François Doumen |
| 1995 | One Man * | 8 | Richard Dunwoody | Gordon W. Richards |
| 1996 | One Man | 8 | Richard Dunwoody | Gordon W. Richards |
| 1997 | See More Business | 7 | Andrew Thornton | Paul Nicholls |
| 1998 | Teeton Mill | 9 | Norman Williamson | Venetia Williams |
| 1999 | See More Business | 9 | Mick Fitzgerald | Paul Nicholls |
| 2000 | First Gold | 7 | Thierry Doumen | François Doumen |
| 2001 | Florida Pearl | 9 | Adrian Maguire | Willie Mullins |
| 2002 | Best Mate | 7 | Tony McCoy | Henrietta Knight |
| 2003 | Edredon Bleu | 11 | Jim Culloty | Henrietta Knight |
| 2004 | Kicking King | 6 | Barry Geraghty | Tom Taaffe |
| 2005 | Kicking King ** | 7 | Barry Geraghty | Tom Taaffe |
| 2006 | Kauto Star | 6 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls |
* The 1995 race was postponed and took place at Sandown Park on January 6th 1996.
** The 2005 race took place at Sandown Park as Kempton Park was closed for re-development.