Kempton: 26-27 Dec, Christmas Festival
If you’re about to overdo yourself in appalling fashion at the dining table, the healthiest way to work it all off may be to chase along to Sunbury on Boxing Day for a little light exercise. The circuit from paddock to bookmakers to grandstand is bound to do some good, if repeated at half-hourly intervals, and there will be thrilling action on the track to lend renewed vigour to your circulation.
It’s a small field for this year’s King George VI Chase but the six runners are full of quality and provide a nice blend of established talent and youthful promise. At the top of the betting, there is Cyrname (“The Only Horse To Beat Altior”) and Lostintranslation (“The Only Horse To Beat Bristol De Mai At Haydock”).
If you still believe in last year’s winner, Clan Des Obeaux, the bookmakers will let you have 9-2 about his chances. Or perhaps you’re hoping for even more of a Christmas miracle with Thistlecrack, runner-up last year and the old man of the party at 11 years. According to his trainer, the fire still burns bright.
Also on Boxing Day is the Christmas Hurdle, which features an unusually big field as a bunch of optimists try to take advantage of the absence of the injured Buveur D’Air. Three of his stablemates are at the top of the betting, so it seems Nicky Henderson has no more clue about who’s going to win than we do…
If you make it to Kempton on the day after Boxing Day, Henderson is expected to be the key man then as well. His Altior is currently 2-5 for the Desert Orchid Chase, which would mark a significant return to two miles for the horse, whose step up in distance did not go so well at Ascot last month.
Leopardstown: 26-29 Dec, Christmas Festival
Four days of top-class racing south of Dublin will provide fans of the jumps with much of their festive entertainment. It is also sure to be essential viewing for anyone in need of clues for the Cheltenham Festival. You probably think that’s a long way off but some serious contenders may be about to have their final outing before lining up in Gloucestershire three months hence.
Saturday’s Savills Chase is the feature, when Kemboy is sure to be a strong favourite. This is a belated return to action for the horse whose ownership has been the centre of prolonged controversy. He is now allowed to race in new colours and, while the consequences of that story have yet to fully unravel, it is clearly excellent news that such a bright young talent can compete once more.
Surprisingly, Willie Mullins has indicated he may also run Al Boum Photo, the Gold Cup winner, as the Leopardstown ground is expected to suit. A clash between the pair, first and second in the Punchestown Gold Cup in May, would be worth going a long way to see.
Mullins is also expected to run the very classy two-miler Chacun Pour Soi at Leopardstown on Friday, while Sunday’s action could feature the likes of Klassical Dream and Envoi Allen, both Festival winners last spring.
Away from Leopardstown, do not miss Limerick’s Matchbook Novice Chase on Boxing Day / St Stephen’s Day, in which Faugheen takes on Samcro.
Chepstow: 27 Dec, Welsh National Day
Settling down with a crossword puzzle or a murder mystery is reckoned to be a fine way of clearing the head over the holidays, but more challenging than any Agatha Christie is the question of who is going to win the Welsh Grand National. Or at least the bookmakers are hoping that this big-field handicap is as difficult as it usually has been.
Punters may feel differently, as the obvious favourite is Elegant Escape, who delivered the goods in last year’s race. From the Dorset yard of Colin Tizzard, also well represented in the King George the day before, this classy sort is still only seven and no bigger than 7-2 to become the first back-to-back winner since Bonanza Boy some 30 years ago.
Tizzard may yet take on his own favourite with West Approach and if so there will be some sentimental types hoping for an extremely rare Christmas double; West Approach is a half-brother to Thistlecrack, an outsider in the King George.
While most of the runners will be English-trained, Potters Corner and Pobbles Bay should provide a lively home defence, while Big River is expected to tilt at the prize for the Scottish trainer Lucinda Russell.
Cheltenham: 1 Jan, New Year’s Day
Racing’s way of clearing its head on New Year’s Day is to head to the natural home of jump racing for seven quality contests that offer many a clue to the Festival, though a start time of 12.15pm is less than ideal if you were up late the night before. It is just possible that some of those present will have remained a stranger to their beds for the previous 24 hours, which is unlikely to improve their decision-making…
The highlight is the Dipper Novice Chase, with a very classy roll of honour, featuring recent winners like Yanworth, Whisper and Oscar Whisky. Lostintranslation outgunned Defi Du Seuil a year ago, a piece of form that is working out very nicely.
Add in the usual assortment of challenging Cheltenham handicaps, plus the track’s reliably convivial atmosphere, and you have the makings of a 1st of January that should be much better than most of the days that follow.