What the RaceiQ data told us about the Kempton crackers

A stunning edition of the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase produced a record-breaking winner in The Jukebox Manand the final fences being negotiated faster than ever before in the race’s rich history. 

Three behemoths of Jump racing, Arkle, Desert Orchid and Kauto Star, feature on the roll of honour but none whizzed along in the closing stages quite like this star-studded crew. The Jukebox Man ended up stopping the clock at 5min 49.13sec; the fastest any horse has completed the 3m chase course at the Sunbury-on-Thames venue. 

A swift time was always on the cards given the drying ground and an eight-strong field including several potential front-runners, but you would have got big odds on the record books being rewritten after 75 per cent of the contest, as Il Est Francais, ridden by Harry Cobden, set steady fractions, pursued by the eventual winner. The gallop was anything but ferocious with several runners racing keenly. 

The final half mile of the contest was something else. 

A pot that had been simmering nicely, suddenly reached boiling point. The energy conserved all came to the surface, with the speedometers beginning to have steam coming out of them. 

The Jukebox Man completed the last four furlongs, including the three fences in the home straight, in 52.11sec, with his Finishing Sped percentage being 111.66%. But he was only fourth fastest. Banbridge completed the same passage in 51.59sec, with Gaelic Warrior (51.76sec) and Jango Baie (52sec) also being a bit quicker. 

By way of comparison, when Lambourn   won the Derby in June, it took him 48.82sec to complete the last half mile, with 9st 2lb to shoulder. He had to cope with Epsom’s camber, but there were no other obstacles in his way. The King George runners had to shoulder 11st 10lb. 

I’m comparing oranges with lemons, of course, but it gives you a sense of how quickly the horses and riders were motoring at the end of a contest that had fans of the sport on the edge of their seats. 

Jango Baie attacked the 16th fence at 35.28mph, while Banbridge was just a smidgeon off 36mph when zooming towards the penultimate obstacle and came away from it at 34.44mph. And, at the last, Gaelic Warrior, having galloped almost three miles, was still travelling at 34.84mph. 

When successful 12 months earlier, also on good ground, Banbridge never went into a fence quicker than 32.96mph and it took him 55.1sec to complete the last half mile. Hewick never entered a fence quicker than 31.27mph when winning in 2023, finishing off in 56.54sec. 

The first three home almost crossed the line as one (the distances were a a nose and another nose) with Jango Baie just half a length away in fourth. That suggests that if you ran the race three or four times, you might well get three or four different winners. 

There were no race-ending blunders, although the data indicates that if all the runners had jumped the same, then Jango Baie would have won. He surrendered 4.61 lengths to The Jukebox Kid, but there were no extremes in the jumping department, with all eight runners having the distinction of leaping best at one of the 18 fences along the way. 

The Jukebox Man was well placed given the way the race was run, but he was tenacious in the final strides after Banbridge had edged past him and keep in mind this was only his fourth race over fences. He’s a smashing individual and it would be churlish to suggest he was fortunate in any way. 

Banbridge came within a whisker of retaining his crown, while Gaelic Warrior, who had won an epic John Durkan the previous month, ran all the way to the line on the rail, as did Jango Baie out wider. 

Djelo was unable to keep up after briefly threatening to get involved, while Fact To File lacked his usual fluency and, unusually, lost ground with his jumping. Il Est Francais again faltered after setting the pace, with Master Chewy simply out of his depth. 

Banbridge was typically athletic getting from A to B, earning a Jump Index score of 8.4 and gaining 3.9 lengths. The Jukebox Man was not far behind him, getting a score of 8.2 and grabbing what proved a crucial 2.86 lengths. 

The winner is 8-1 to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. He’s yet to run over fences at the track but, of course, ran a mighty race on the New Course when runner-up in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle in 2024. 

Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie, both Arkle winners, are chalked up at 10-1, but Bainbridge is 40-1 in places. He disappointed in the Gold Cup last year and Joseph O’Brien, his trainer, has indicated Cheltenham will not be on his agenda. 

“You will never see a better horse race ever,” said Nicky Henderson concluded. And few would disagree. 

What a treat it was see Sir Gino do what Sir Gino does: race exuberantly and trounce rivals without seemingly coming out of second gear.

Given his health issues in the past year, when he spent weeks in hospital battling a life-threatening infection, his Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle romp was truly a sight to warm the heart. 

He's now no bigger than 7-4 to now go on and win the Unibet Champion Hurdle in March, with Lossiemouth (7-2) and The New Lion (5-1) the only others quoted shorter than 16-1. 

Nicky Henderson still has the option to send him back over fences, but it seems highly unlikely. “He’s a five-year-old and I think we could afford to have a year over hurdles,” he said in the aftermath. 

The bad news with those faced with mastering this unbeaten gelding – he’s a magnificent seven from seven – is that he was a bit rusty here, which was perhaps no surprise after his absence. 

He made a mess of the fourth flight and ballooned a couple of others. Indeed, the data tells us he jumped worst of the whole field, earning a Jump Index score of 7.3 and losing 0.59 lengths with his leaping. 

As a reminder, this overall score considers time in the jumping envelope (30 metres before and after each jump); entry speeds, exit speeds, speed lost and speed recovery times. Our eyes can only tell us so much, the data fills in the blanks. 

Sir Gino reserved his best jumps for the final three hurdles, giving us a clear indicator that he was getting back in the swing of things by the finish. His scores at the eight jumps were: 7.0, 7.6, 6.4, 5.2, 6.9, 8.2, 8.2 and 7.9. 

They are not the kind of inconsistent tallies that prospective Champion Hurdle winners usually produce. 

For instance, when his stablemate Constitution Hill won the race for a third time last year, he reeled off scores of 8.2, 8.3, 7.6, 7.3, 7.1, 7.6, 10.0 and 8.9, earning him an overall score of 8.8. So, Constitution Hill’s most inefficient jump (7.1) last year, on similar going, was better than half the leaps that Sir Gino managed on this occasion. 

But Sir Gino is blessed with so much pace and power, that it might not matter that he doesn’t skim over his hurdles like a swallow. And if he ever does start throwing in 10/10 leaps, then the others might as well stay at home. 

He’s lost none of his speed, illustrated by the fact that he was fastest in each of the final four furlongs without being extended, and can only be sharper for this run. 

Misfortune has meant this wonderful horse has missed the past two Cheltenham Festivals. He deserves a change of fortune and Champion Hurdle glory surely beckons. 

Kitzbuhelrevived memories of Desert Orchid with the way he attacked his fences in the Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices' Chase. The front-runner stood off plenty of his obstacles and resembled a cat with the way he neatly tucked his legs away. 

He got a RaceiQ Jump Index score of 8.3 out of ten and gained between seven lengths and 18 lengths over his five opponents. It had been a similar story on his chasing bow at Punchestown when he got a score of 8.9 and swiped the best part of 15 lengths. 

Paul Townend gave him a measured, controlling ride, with Kitzbuhel’s Finishing Speed Percentage being 109.28%. Wendigo, who finished third, could have done with a stronger galop and softer ground, given his staying profile. 

Overall, this perhaps was not the strongest renewal, but the winner stopped the clock at 5m 51.64sec, which was only 2.51sec slower than The Jukebox Man registered in the King George. He looks more about speed than stamina.

Willie Mullins will have plenty of juggling to do with his novice chasers, but it would not be a surprise to see Kitzbuhel return to British shores for the Scilly Isles at Sandown on January 31. He’s no sluggard and dropping in trip seems highly unlikely to inconvenience him. 

He's 10-1 for the Brown Advisory in March but his trainer will have plenty of options, and that race may not be the best fit for him. Wendigo is 25-1 for the same race, and I would not give up on his each-way claims.