As horse racing fans race towards Boxing Day, the question – how many times has Paul Nicholls trained the winner of the King George VI Chase at Kempton? – will surely raise it’s head again. Well, we can answer that – as the Ditcheat handler has won the King George a record-breaking 13 times (and counting).
Trainer Paul Nicholls Has Won The King George VI Chase 13 Times
No horse racing trainer has won the King George VI Chase more times than Paul Nicholls.
The 14-time champion jumps trainer has won the Kempton Boxing Day feature thirteen times over the years and it’s unlikely he finished just yet.
The first of the Paul Nicholls King George winners came way back in 1997 with See More Business. Who was ridden that day by Andrew Thornton.
He only had to wait two more years when the same horse won back his King George Chase crown in 1999. This time with former Grand National winning jockey Mick Fitzgerald doing the steering (watch below).
In between those King George wins, See More Business also landed the 1999 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
It wasn’t until 2006, and the emergence of Kauto Star, that saw Paul Nicholls win his third King George.
But after six years without a success in the big Kempton Christmas race, Nicholls didn’t waste any time in adding a load more.
Kauto Star Added Five More King George Wins For Paul Nicholls
Kauto Star went on a King George winning spree that saw him win four more and ended his Kempton reign with five wins in total between 2006 and 2011.
Winning his first aged just 6 and his last in 2011 aged 11 in what many dubbed the training performance of the decade.
Top jockey Ruby Walsh rode Kauto Star in all five of his King George VI Chase wins. And also piloted one of the best chasers in the modern era to two Cheltenham Gold Cup successes (2007 and 2009).
It was also during this Kauto Star run of wins that saw Paul Nicholls become the most successful King George VI Chase trainer – overtaking Fulke Walwyn, who had won the race five times between 1947 and 1971.
Silviniaco Conti and Clan Des Obeaux Both Back-to-Back King George Winners For Nicholls
With Kauto Star now retired, Paul Nicholls was looking for his next big staying chasing star, but he didn’t have to wait long.
Just two years after the Kauto era, Nicholls was at it again when winning double King George’s in 2013 and 2014 with Silviniaco Conti. Ridden both times by Noel Fehily.
It was ‘double time’ again in 2018 and 2018 as Clan Des Obeaux, who was part-owned by former Man Utd boss Alex Ferguson. Winning for jockeys Harry Cobden and Sam Twiston-Davies.
Frodon’s Saw The First Female King George Winning Rider
Nicholls added his twelfth King George success in 2020 when the Bryony Frost-ridden Frodon won at 20/1.
The 8 year-0ld (at the time) also created history for his jockey Bryony Frost as she became the first female winner of the famous Boxing Day race.
Frodon has gone onto run in the King George twice more when 4th in 2021 and finished 3rd last year in 2022.
He’s back for more in 2023 and with a Kempton read that has seen him win 3-from-7, could be a lively outsider.
Frodon will be the oldest King George runner in 2023 at 11, but is also the horse that has won the most total career prize money – £1,169,935.
The Most Recent King George Winner For Paul Nicholls Was Bravemansgame
Thirteen is an unlucky number for some, but not for Paul Nicholls when it comes to the King George in 2022.
He was winning the Kempton race for a record 13th time when his Bravemansgame got the job done and, in the process, provided jockey Harry Cobden with his second success in the race.
Bravemansgame will be back for more in 2023 as he looks to join the other Nicholls back-to-back winners and the best UK horse racing betting sites make him one of the favourites.
In the last 21 runnings on the King George, we’ve seen 52% of favourites win, but the last was Might Bite in 2017.
The 2023 King George VI Chase will be run at 2:30pm on Tuesday 26th December.
Full List Of Paul Nicholls King George VI Chase Winners
- See More Business (1997, 1999)
- Kauto Star (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)
- Silviniaco Conti (2013, 2014)
- Clan Des Obeaux (2018, 2019)
- Frodon (2020)
- Bravemansgame (2022)
Other Trainers With Four (or more) King George VI Chase Winners
- 5 – Fulke Walwyn
- 4 – Peter Cazalet
- 4 – David Elsworth
- 4 – Francois Doumen
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