Nicholls: Star still burning bright

Paul Nicholls is confident Kauto Star is in the form of his life ahead of his bid for a remarkable fifth victory in the William Hill King George VI Chase at Kempton.

The 10-year-old has been simply breathtaking on his previous visits to the Sunbury track and despite the race being delayed due to the abandonment of the track’s Boxing Day card, he will be the hot favourite if the meeting goes ahead on Monday.

Champion jockey and recently crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year Tony McCoy takes the ride for the first time, having switched from Albertas Run, and Nicholls can hardly wait for the race to start.

“Firstly, I would like to thank Jonjo (O’Neill) and Trevor Hemmings for allowing AP to ride the horse,” Nicholls said in his column on www.betfair.com.

“Everyone knows all about Kauto Star. He is going for a historic fifth King George and is looking and working as well as he ever has.

“He hasn’t missed a day’s work in spite of the weather and has improved enormously since his reappearance win from Sizing Europe and China Rock at Down Royal.

“I am never that confident going into a Grade One race but I am confident that he goes to a track he clearly loves in great order.

“The fact that Timeform have him at least 26lb of the field tells its own story.”

While Kauto Star deservedly takes all the headlines, Nicholls has an interesting second string in the King George in the shape of The Nightingale.

The seven-year-old, also a winner at Down Royal in November, is as big as 25-1 and Nicholls believes that is huge each-way value.

“The Nightingale has a far better chance than his price suggests and I think he is an outsider with big place claims,” the Ditcheat handler continued.

“He showed what a progressive horse he was when winning by 11 lengths on his reappearance at Down Royal and the runner-up there, Roberto Goldback, franked the form with a close third in the John Durkan.

“After the race, the handicapper gave him a mark of 167, and that makes him the officially joint-third highest rated horse in this, after Kauto Star (190) and Albertas Run (168). His price doesn’t reflect that.

“I said recently that I would only run him in this race on soft ground but, on reflection, good to soft ground may be ideal for him trying this trip for the first time.

“He has won at Kempton, loves going right-handed and is one of only two in the race, along with Riverside Theatre, who comes into the race largely unexposed. I think the market has underestimated him.”