Six of the Best the King George VI Chase Winners Since 2000

by , 21 December 2023

Mandarin, Wayward Lad, Desert Orchid, The Fellow, and One Man are among the outstanding repeat winners of the King George VI Chase. This three-mile contest, the second most prestigious chase race in British National Hunt racing, is staged annually on Boxing Day at Kempton Park.

Despite dating back to 1937 – during which time Pendil, Silver Buck, and Captain Christy also won the Boxing Day contest more than once – the race is as popular today as it has been at any time during the past five decades.

Kauto Star's achievements listed on a plaque at Kempton Park.

Kauto Star’s list of achievements – not least five King George VI Chase victories – underlines he was the greatest chaser of the modern era. ©GettyImages

Below, we have listed six of the most outstanding King George VI Chase winners since the turn of the century. Our countdown starts with one of the most successful chasers of all time, the incomparable Kauto Star.

Kauto Is the Brightest Star

Kauto Star contested the King George VI Chase on six occasions and landed the contest five times between 2006 (video below) and 2012. His only defeat came in 2011 when he finished third behind Long Run and Riverside Theatre. Post-race, it was discovered the 4/7 favourite was bleeding from his nose – indicating he had suffered from a burst blood vessel.

A week shy of his twelfth birthday, the French-bred Paul Nicholls-trained star would gain revenge on Long Run twelve months later when he ‘jumped impeccably’ and produced an ‘awesome’ performance – not our words but those of the Racing Post’s reporting team!

Historically, only ten horses have won the King George VI Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same season. Kauto Star completed the big-race double twice – in the 2006/07 and the 2008/09 seasons.

The perfect chaser – considered the best since Arkle, who won the 1965 King George VI Chase – Kauto Star won 19 of his 26 completed chase starts. Finishing second on another five occasions, he retired with prize money earnings of £2,375,883. Connections also collected a £1 million bonus when Kauto Star won the 2006/07 Stayers Chase Triple Crown: Haydock’s Betfair Chase, the King George and Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Mate Was the Best of His Generation

Positioning Best Mate second on our list may raise a few eyebrows. The Henrietta Knight-trained horse won just one King George during his career, whereas five horses have won two or more editions of the race since 2004.

However, Best Mate only contested Kempton Park’s showpiece race twice and finished second as a six-year-old on his first attempt. Of course, Best Mate is better known as the first horse since Arkle in 1966 to win three Gold Cups and is listed amongst the Cheltenham greats.

The best of his generation, with a Haldon Gold Cup, Peterborough and Ericsson Chase on his CV, Best Mate won 11 and finished second in four of his 15 chase starts. Tragically, he suffered a heart attack and died during his sixteenth chase outing at Exeter when aged 10.

The King of Kempton and Sandown Park

Kicking King won the King George as a six-year-old in 2004 and proceeded to take the Cheltenham Gold Cup less than three months later. Remarkably, he never raced at the Cheltenham Festival again but did return to the UK to contest and win the 2005 King George VI Chase.

In doing so, the Irish-trained star – who also won the Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup during an outstanding year – created his own piece of history. As Kempton Park was closed for redevelopment in 2005, the race was run at Sandown Park. It meant Kicking King won the King George at two different racecourses.

Kicking King spent his retirement at the Irish National Stud, where he shared a paddock with Moscow Flyer and the legendary Vintage Crop. The six-time Grade-1 winner passed away in 2023 at the age of 25.

King George VI Chase Winners List

2000 First Gold
2001 Florida Pearl
2002 Best Mate
2003 Edredon Bleu
2004 Kicking King
2005 Kicking King
2006 Kauto Star
2007 Kauto Star
2008 Kauto Star
2009 Kauto Star
2010 Long Run
2011 Kauto Star
2012 Long Run
2013 Silviniaco Conti
2014 Silviniaco Conti
2015 Cue Card
2016 Thistlecrack
2017 Might Bite
2018 Clan Des Obeaux
2019 Clan Des Obeaux
2020 Frodon
2021 Tornado Flyer
2022 Bravemansgame

Cue Card Held All the Aces

When Cue Card won a lowly Class-6 National Hunt Flat race at Fontwell on his debut, nobody could have foreseen what an outstanding career lay ahead and how he would become one of the most popular horses of the 2010s. His second start came at the Cheltenham Festival, where he won the Champion Bumper at odds of 40/1.

Cue Card would make six more appearances at the Cheltenham Festival, notably winning the 2013 Ryanair Chase and travelling like a winner in the 2016 Gold Cup before falling three fences from home. If he had prevailed in the Cheltenham showpiece, like Kauto Star, he would have collected a £1 million bonus for winning the Stayers Chase Triple Crown.

Cue Card’s big-race victories include the Haldon Gold Cup, the Ascot Chase (twice), the Betfair Bowl, the Charlie Hall Chase, three editions of the Betfair Chase, and, of course, the King George VI Chase.

Cue Card won the King George VI Chase on his fourth attempt. He ran in the contest five times, finishing second twice. 2015’s victory was a gutsy performance where he wore down the Irish-trained Vautour to claim the victory by a head on the winning line.

Conti Knocked Them Out Twice

2013 and 2014 King George VI Chase winner Silviniaco Conti had striking similarities with Cue Card. They won the same famous horse races – such as the Charlie Hall Chase, Ascot Chase and Aintree’s Bowl contest – and both had hard luck stories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

He was travelling well when falling three from home in the 2013 Gold Cup. Twelve months later, he led the Gold Cup field until the final 110 yards. Silviniaco Conti started as the big race favourite on his third Gold Cup attempt in 2015. Once again, he looked at ease for much of the trip but faded out of contention later in the piece.

Another French-bred trained by Paul Nicholls, Silviniaco Conti landed the King George VI Chase on his first attempt, beating regulars Cue Card and Long Run. In 2014, under an inspired ride from Noel Fehily, he made all the running to win the contest by over four lengths.

His final King George outing came in 2016. Aged ten with 33 previous starts behind him – including an attempt on the Grand National – Silviniaco Conti was clearly not as good as he once was. However, he was gallant in defeat, finishing third, denied by Cue Card by a short-head for second. The seven-time Grade-1 winner was retired later that season after two disappointing efforts.

Proving a Point in the Long Run

A Grade-1 winning chaser in his native France as a four-year-old, Long Run was always an exceptional racehorse. He contested the King George Chase four times, winning the three-miler on his first attempt in 2010 (technically 2011, as that year’s race was rescheduled to take place a fortnight later than usual due to snow).

With Kauto Star suffering from a broken blood vessel, many questioned the form worth of that victory. Even when winning that season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, Long Run still had his doubters. Denman and Kauto Star took the place positions, but they were 11-year-olds at this juncture and the Nicky Henderson-trained horse was five years their junior.

Maybe the detractors were correct. Kauto Star defied his age to beat Long Run into second in the 2011 King George. But after that, Long Run showed he was a worthy King George champion by taking the title for a second time in 2012.

Later placed in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and touched off by three-parts-of-a-length in the Punchestown Gold Cup, Long Run probably does not get the recognition his results deserve. In our opinion, he was one of the better King George VI Chase winners of the past two decades.

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