I’d love to win the King George – McManus hoping to realise long-held ambition

JP McManus is eager to find out if Fact To File can end his near 50-year wait for an elusive Ladbrokes King George VI Chase triumph.

The Boxing Day showpiece at Kempton Park is one of the very few prizes to have eluded the legendary owner, whose losing run in the three-mile event dates back to 1978, when Jack Of Trumps was second, a position he would again fill 12 months later.

However, this year he has a formidable ally on his side in the form of dual Cheltenham Festival winner Fact To File, who will lock horns once again with his Willie Mullins-trained stablemate and John Durkan conqueror Gaelic Warrior at the Sunbury track.

“The King George is always an exciting race and it’s nice to have a runner good enough to be one of the favourites, so we keep our fingers crossed,” said McManus.

“We’ll know if it was the right race for him (afterwards) and it would be lovely to tick this race off. I’d love to win the King George, I’ve been trying to win it since 1978.

“I was second in 1978 and 1979 and haven’t managed to get our nose in front yet, but Willie seems very happy to go and I’m very happy to go to, (so) all arrows are pointing to Kempton.”