King George VI Chase 2026 Betting Guide

There's nothing quite like Boxing Day at Kempton. The turkey has barely settled, the grandstand is packed with racegoers in their Christmas best, and the finest staying chasers in Britain and Ireland line up for three miles and 18 fences in the King George VI Chase. Win it and your name goes on a roll of honour that includes Desert Orchid (four wins) and Kauto Star (five).

This year's Grade 1 is run on Saturday 26 December, and last year's renewal carried a £250,000 purse. For punters it's a real treat: a proper big-race puzzle with a field small enough to actually solve. The form also feeds straight into the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, so the horse who wins here is often the one to follow all winter.

Last year's race was one of the best in memory, and it sets up this one beautifully. Here's how we see the horses, the track and the bets.

The 2025 renewal had everything. The Jukebox Man, a seven-year-old trained by Ben Pauling and ridden by Ben Jones, took over from Il Est Francais approaching three out, was headed at the last by defending champion Banbridge, then dug deep to get back up and win by a nose at 7/1. Gaelic Warrior was another nose back in third, with Willie Mullins' Jango Baie also in the thick of it.

The winner's owner was none other than Harry Redknapp, the former Portsmouth, Tottenham and West Ham manager, and a bumper crowd of 17,195 saw him celebrate. It was a second Grade 1 win at Kempton for The Jukebox Man, who had also taken the Kauto Star Novices' Chase there a year earlier.

Two lessons carry over to 2026. Kempton finishes are tight, so don't assume the best horse on paper simply wins. And the Irish raiders keep coming: Banbridge and Gaelic Warrior filled the places last year, and Irish-trained horses have won three of the last five renewals.

Nothing is set in stone until the entries and declarations come out, but last year's form gives us a cracking cast to start with.

Gaelic Warrior

Willie Mullins' star is the one to beat on profile. He was joint-favourite at 9/4 last year, ran a bold third, and has since gone one better in the biggest race of all by winning the 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup under Paul Townend. A reigning Gold Cup winner turning out on Boxing Day is the stuff ante-post dreams are made of, and he'll command plenty of respect wherever the market settles.

Banbridge

Joseph O'Brien's stable star won this in 2024 with Townend in the saddle and was beaten only a nose when defending his title. Going back-to-back is rare but far from impossible: Silviniaco Conti and Clan Des Obeaux both managed it in the last dozen years. He has run two outstanding races here, and he clearly loves the place.

The Jukebox Man

The reigning champion has now won two Grade 1s at Kempton, so the track is plainly his thing. Defending a title is the hard part, though, and he won't be 7/1 again. The question is whether his new, shorter price still leaves any value.

Jango Baie

Another member of the Mullins battalion who was right in the mix last year. He's a serious Grade 1 performer and the sort we'd consider each-way rather than win-only, especially if the market leaders are expected to take each other on.

Trends are a guide, not gospel, but this race does leave a few clues. Every one of the last eight winners was aged between six and eight, so the youngsters and the veterans have a mountain to climb. Irish yards have won three of the last five. And Paul Nicholls, who holds the trainer record with 13 wins, hasn't added to his tally since Bravemansgame in 2022.

Here are the last eight winners at a glance.

Kempton is a flat, right-handed, triangular track, and it asks very different questions from the hills of Cheltenham or the giant obstacles at Aintree. There's no climb to sap the legs, so this is a race for horses who travel sweetly, jump accurately and still have gears left at the business end.

The fences are fair rather than fearsome, which rewards the neat, economical jumper over the spectacular leaper. A mistake at speed costs more here than a flamboyant leap gains, and with 18 fences to clear, accuracy adds up.

Watch the ground

Boxing Day weather is a lottery. A dry spell leaves decent ground and a fast pace; a wet one can turn it soft and turn the race into a slog. Check the going before you commit, and remember that some horses are far happier on one surface than the other.

Paul Nicholls is the king of this race, with 13 wins from See More Business and Kauto Star (five times) through to Frodon in 2020 and Bravemansgame in 2022. A few lean years don't make him a forgotten man, and he's never one to ignore on Boxing Day.

Willie Mullins needs no introduction. Tornado Flyer won for him in 2021, and last year he had Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie in the shake-up. Joseph O'Brien has the 2024 winner in Banbridge, while Ben Pauling is the man of the moment after The Jukebox Man's heroics. Nicky Henderson won with Might Bite in 2017 and Long Run in 2010 and 2012, and his string always deserves a look.

In the saddle, Paul Townend is the one to watch, having won on Banbridge in 2024 and landed the Gold Cup on Gaelic Warrior. Harry Cobden has two wins for Nicholls, and Ben Jones will take plenty of beating on the reigning champion. For more on how to use the numbers, see our guide to jockey and trainer statistics.

Each-way betting

Big staying chases tend to produce small fields, and that makes each-way betting well worth a look. An each-way bet is two bets in one: a win bet and a place bet at a fraction of the odds, so a £10 each-way bet costs £20. Terms for Grade 1 chases are often one-fifth the odds for the first few places, but they vary between bookmakers, so shop around. With the first three separated by a nose apiece last year, covering the places felt like a sensible insurance policy.

Forecast and tricast

The forecast market asks you to name the first two home in the right order, and the tricast asks for the first three. The prices are bigger, and so is the challenge. They suit a race where you have a firm view on the top two or three, which in a small field you sometimes will.

Ante-post

Ante-post prices appear months ahead, and early value can be real, because the market hasn't yet digested the autumn runs. The risk is that your horse might not make it to Kempton, so look for non-runner no bet (NRNB) terms that return your stake if he's missing.

• Respect Gaelic Warrior. A Gold Cup winner with a Kempton third on his CV is the class act of the field, though his price will reflect it.
• Don't write off Banbridge. Two superb runs here, a 2024 win and a nose defeat, make him a contender every year.
• Weigh up The Jukebox Man carefully. He loves the track, but defending champions are rarely generous in the betting, so be sure the price still offers value.
• Think each-way on the Mullins second string. Jango Baie was in the mix last year, and the place part of the bet is a cushion if it ends in another photo.
• Favour the seven- and eight-year-olds. The last eight winners were aged six to eight, so don't stray far from that window.
• Value the neat jumper. Kempton's fair fences reward accuracy, so back the horse who gets from fence to fence without fuss.
• Check the ground and the declarations. Boxing Day weather and late changes can reshape the market, so keep your powder dry until the final field is confirmed.

Whatever you back, set your stake before the race and stick to it. If Kempton leaves you hungry for more jump racing, our Grand National guide is the next stop. Enjoy the day.

• Cheltenham Festival 2026: Complete Betting Guide - Gold Cup tips and strategies for jump racing's biggest festival
• Grand National 2026 Betting Guide - Odds, tips and best bets for Aintree's famous steeplechase
• Each-Way Betting Explained - Everything you need to know about E/W bets
• Reverse Forecast Betting Explained - A complete guide to forecast and tricast bets
• Jockey and Trainer Statistics - Find your betting edge with stats analysis

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