The festive period has not disappointed this year throwing up plenty of cracking races, none more so than the King George, which was eventually battled out between the magnificent Vautour and the people’s favourite Cue Card. When turning in I’m sure everyone can admit they thought Vautour was going to put up a phenomenal performance an cruise to victory with the way he was travelling 3 out while the rest of the field were struggling to claw back the deficit, however it wasn’t to be as the 6 year old gelding was denied close home by the rejuvinated Cue Card.

It’s great to see Cue Card back to his best as I’m sure everyone can remember how good he was at his peak most notably the demolition job in the RyanAir back in 2013 where he was breathtaking. The last couple of seasons have been abit of hit and miss, with injury and performances suggesting his best racing days have come and gone, however the wind op he underwent in the summer seems to have done the trick and he is now only one race away from landing the jockey club chasing triple crown £1 million bonus, which would be fantastic for Colin Tizzard and connections. I do feel Cue Card isn’t getting quite the credit he deserves though as straight the way once the result was announced people were making excuses for Vautour saying he didn’t stay or he wasn’t at his best over this trip, but for me if Cue Card is back to his best then Vautour would have needed to improve on his novice form to beat the son of Kings Theatre, because that RyanAir performance for me was better then what Vautour did in the JLT. There wasn’t really anything to fault about Cue Cards performance on Boxing Day, as he jumped and travelled well and when the jockey asked for him to dig deep he duly obliged. Like most people in the last couple of seasons I didn’t think Cue Card would be suited by the stamina sapping race like the Gold Cup but this season he looks tailor made for it, needing every yard of the King George to get the better of Vautour. Not only the wind op but the fact he has learnt to settle in races has created this impression, as he is able to finish off his races over the longer distances instead of running on empty coming to the last. He’s also built up a great partnership with Paddy Brennan and they both seem to get the best out of each other in races, so the jockey also needs to take the plaudits for a career turning season for both of them. With the way Cue Card runs fresh it didn’t come as a surprise to me that he will be going straight to the Gold Cup as he’s had three tough races this season before the turn of the year and a freshen up will be beneficial.

For me Vautour lost nothing in defeat, in fact I feel he’s enhanced his reputation, the reason for this is very few have the capability to run over the three main distances and run big races at the highest level. I have no doubt if he ran in the Queen Mother, RyanAir or Gold cup he would have a big chance in all three, the last horse I can remember you could say that about was Kauto Star. I don’t think you can rule out a Gold Cup bid just yet from that run, although it is unlikely with the same connections owning the ante post favourite Djakadam. I couldn’t really give Vautour any excuses for the defeat, the fact he jumped to the left at most of the fences may have contributed slightly, but whether that would have changed the result I very much doubt. However when it comes to Cheltenham this son of Robin Des Champs seems to come into his element, with his best two performances barring the King George (Supreme & JLT) coming at the home of racing. If he can improve again from this performance like he has done in previous seasons at Cheltenham then wherever he goes he will have a massive chance. In my opinion I feel they need to give 3 mile another go before deciding which race to go for at the festival, possibly the Irish Hennesey as long as the ground isn’t to testing.

Perhaps the main question from the race is where Don Cossack would have finished if he hadn’t had fallen 2 out. The fact he is a guaranteed stayer over the trip and he seemed to be getting the better of Cue Card before he came down you would have to say he would have gone on to win, but at the end of the day if you don’t jump you won’t win. For anyone who has backed this 8 year old gelding for the Gold Cup I would take a lot of encouragement from his performance because of how the race panned out in the earlier stages with an early mistake, not great positioning and he never seemed to be travelling 100% with Bryan Cooper niggling the Giggingstown owned gelding every so often throughout the race, for him then to be upsides with Cue Card coming to the second last says a lot of the horse. I would expect him to run again before Cheltenham as I don’t think anyone would like to send there horse to the big festival straight after a fall.

Out of the three I would say Don Cossack would be the one to take out of the race as I don’t believe the tight track of Kempton would suit this son of Sholokhov and all roads should lead to the big showpiece in March.

From the remainder of the field Al Ferof yet again ran a creditable race coming third for the third consecutive year, all being well it looks like the RyanAir would be the most likely target for him and I’m sure trainer and connections would be hoping Vautour goes elsewhere.

I was slightly disappointed with the way Smad Place was ridden as he was at his best when ridden bold and positively at the front in the Hennesey, so for him to be held back was surprising and in the end he never really got himself into a winning position.

I think silviniaco Conti’s performance should probably be forgiven due to the form of the stable. He seemed to be travelling and jumping well but once Vautour took the lead from him it was curtains, as the 9 year old gelding began to track back more and more as the race started to heat up, so much so jockey Noel Fehily took the decision to pull the son of Dom Alco up before 3 out. The rumours around the stable suggest that the National is the main target for him now and I’m sure Paul will be hopping BHA handicapper Phil Smith is lenient on his horse after his lacklustre display in the King George.

Irish Cavalier proved he wasn’t up to grade 1 standards finishing around 40 lengths behind the winner. The writing on the wall was clear a long way out for this 6 year old gelding as he was held up throughout the race and wasn’t always fluent at his jumps and the standard of race began to take its toll when he began to struggle at the 14th. Same can be said for Ballynagour who struggled to get on terms from the word go and was pulled up at the 12th.

Valseur lido was going to finish 5th if he hadn’t had fallen at the last and even though this son of Anzillero wasn’t good enough to contest at the top level, there could be a handicap for him in the near future if he drops a few lbs for his display in the King George.