Mate likely to opt for Leopardstown
The Kempton Park showpiece has new sponsors , bookmakers Stan James, but exactly which horse will bid for the £200,000 contest on behalf of one of racing’s most formidable partnerships remains uncertain.
Last year’s winner, the evergreen Edredon Bleu, was on parade under Wellington Arch in Hyde Park, London, yesterday at the official launch of the new sponsorship.
Edredon Bleu was unbeaten in his five races last year and hopes are high that age will not catch up with the gelding, who will be nearly 13 when the time arrives for a repeat attempt.
But there seems little doubt that the horse Kempton officials would really love to line up is triple Gold Cup hero Best Mate, who won the King George in 2002, having been runner-up the year before en route to Cheltenham.
Last year, Best Mate instead took in Leopardstown’s Ericsson Chase and turned in a breathtaking performance to hammer his rivals.
And a return trip across the Irish Sea is clearly the most likely option.
But with the sponsors making Best Mate their 3-1 favourite (13-8 with a run is also available) yesterday, connections admitted nothing was set in stone.
“Henrietta is a great one for defending a title, but we will have to see how things go,” said Lewis. “We’ll be entering Best Mate for Leopardstown and we’ll see what the ground is like.
“We’ll also enter him for Kempton, along with Edredon Bleu and Impek - maybe we can be the first to get a 1-2-3!”
Reflecting on last year’s King George success, Lewis went on: “You only have so much petrol in these horses and if you use it wisely then they will stick around.
“I have been so lucky with these horses and I suppose the longer you go on, the more you know that things must come to an end.
“It’s great that Stan James are putting all this money into the race and the meeting. I just hope it doesn’t attract too many good horses that might beat mine!”
The new sponsorship deal is worth £1.5million to Kempton over five years, with Stan James maintaining the £100,000 bonus first offered to any owner, trainer or jockey who wins the three Grade One events on Boxing Day - the King George, Christmas Hurdle and Feltham Novices’ Chase.
Knight reported that Blue and Mate have been “out in the paddock every day with each other since the end of the season. They have been ridden since July 1 and we’re looking forward to the season - touch wood, there have been no problems.
“I said last year that they couldn’t both run at Kempton because if the ground was right for one, then it wouldn’t be for the other, but I suppose you couldn’t rule anything out.
“It will all depend on the ground. I don’t think Best Mate really likes it at Kempton when it’s on the fast side, but he does desperately need a race around that time.
