The China Mail - Banbridge foils French to land King George VI Chase for Ireland

Trained by Joseph O'Brien, son of master Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien, Banbridge produced a late surge under Paul Townend to pass Il Est Francais, who was all set to supply France with their first winner in the Boxing Day showpiece since 2000.

"To win a race like the King George is a dream, a very special day," said O'Brien.

In a cosmopolitan and competitive edition of the mid-winter feature, first run in 1937, 11 runners went to post from France, Ireland and Britain.

The Real Whacker led early as leading home fancy Grey Dawning made a mistake at the back of the field over the first of 18 fences.

Il Est Francais soon established a wide lead as the French challenger set out to repeat his eye catching win in the Grade One novices' chase at the same meeting last year.

Jumping for fun under James Reveley the 9-2 second favourite was still in charge turning for home with three fences up the short straight.

Reveley had a look behind after the turn and he would not have liked what he saw as Banbridge (7-1) pulled clear of the pack in hot pursuit.

Jumping the last the better, Banbridge carried that momentum to the line, nipping past Il Est Francais to score by one and three quarter lengths. L'Homme Presse, at 14-1, was third with Spillane's Tower the unplaced favourite.

Townend remarked: "I felt I could catch Il Est Francais. I thought it was on, going to the second last.

"Stamina was a question mark, that's why I rode him like I did."

Many among the 14,000 festive crowd were sporting Christmas jumpers.

But the gaudy woollen garments were outshone by the more subdued coats of the real equine jumpers on show out on the track - not least Constitution Hill in the Christmas Hurdle.

- 'He's a genius' -

He secured his third consecutive victory in the Grade One race in style, shrugging off the challenge of the much vaunted challenge of the Willie Mullins-trained Irish mare Lossiemouth.

"He felt fantastic, still a bit of ring rustiness, all the credit to the guv'nor (trainer Nicky Henderson), he's a genius," remarked jockey Nico de Boinville.

Constitution Hill's majestic return after a one-year absence signalled the 2023 Champion Hurdle winner's form for the 2025 crown at the Cheltenham festival in March.

"I'm a bit shaky but thrilled to bits, couldn't be happier," smiled owner Michael Buckley.

"He's a master trainer, anyone who has got a brain can work that out," Buckley said of Henderson.

Earlier, veteran former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp, an avid racing fan, celebrated watching his The Jukebox Man strike the right note in the Grade One Novices' Chase.

"There were days at Old Trafford when I'd watch a bit of racing before kick-off with Sir Alex (Ferguson, Manchester United's celebrated former boss)," former Tottenham coach Redknapp told ITV Racing.

The 77-year-old fittingly received the winning trophy from another former soccer luminary, ex Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit.

Y.Parker--ThChM