Thursday 21 December 2017 10:40, UK
Ahead of the mid-winter showpiece, Press Association Sport looks at 10 of the best 32Red King George VI Chase moments:
Having been written off more times than Muhammad Ali, Kauto Star was nurtured back to his brilliant best by Paul Nicholls for one last hurrah at his favourite hunting ground. The previous season had not ended well, but the 11-year-old conjured up two more Grade Ones, at Haydock and on Boxing Day. There was to be no fairytale at Cheltenham, though, and he was subsequently retired with his place in history assured.
David Elsworth's popular grey had been the previous king of Kempton before Kauto Star came along, with four wins to his name. Just like Kauto Star he was considered past his best at the age of 11 in 1990, but he was imperious in beating Toby Tobias, The Fellow and Celtic Shot - three opponents of the highest calibre.
Arguably Arkle was at his very best in the 1965-66 season in which he went unbeaten, winning the Hennessy (under 12st 7lb), King George, Gold Cup and the Whitbread. He returned to Kempton the following year, but cracked a pedal bone jumping the open ditch. He still finished second, but was in plaster for four months and never ran again.
Wayward Lad was one of the best horses to ever run over fences but because the Cheltenham Gold Cup stretched his stamina to breaking point, he is never mentioned in as many dispatches as he should be. Three wins in the King George advertise just how good the Dickinsons' horse was, though, and his 1985 win as a 10-year-old made him the most successful until Desert Orchid came along.
After being the party pooper when Nupsala beat Desert Orchid in 1987, Francois Doumen was successful seven years later, although the race is remembered more for the dramatic fall of Barton Bank. David Nicholson's charge was bidding for back-to-back successes but unseated Adrian Maguire at the last with the race in the bag.
Kicking King, trained by Tom Taaffe, son of Arkle's jockey, Pat, not only had to see off a top-class field and 18 fences, but also a character dressed as Father Christmas. With the race in safe keeping, Barry Geraghty's mount made a horrendous blunder at the last, giving Kingscliff a sniff. Then a reveller ran across the track in front of him, with Geraghty doing well to avoid any carnage.
Approaching the twilight of his career, former champion chaser Edredon Bleu was in something of the last chance saloon, but running over three miles for the first time he never missed a beat. Sent off an unconsidered 25-1 chance he was gameness personified in holding off Tiutchev and First Gold.
He was switched to chasing reliatively late in life, but Thistlecrack soon made up for lost time, becoming the first novice to ever win the race last year. There may have only been a small field and his main opponent might have hailed from the same Colin Tizzard yard in Cue Card, a previous winner, but Thistlecrack was in a different league on the day, not coming off the bridle.
Florida Pearl was probably Willie Mullins' first really top-class horse and it would have been a shame had he retired without a big win in England. Another who failed to see out the Gold Cup trip, he was ridden aggressively by Adrian Maguire and triple Gold Cup hero Best Mate was among those in behind.
Another who fell into that category was Gordon Richards' dual winner One Man. In 1995 the race was rescheduled for Sandown after originally being postponed for snow and ice and he demolished the field, looking set to dominate for years to come. He rightly laid his Cheltenham hoodoo to rest when dropped to two miles in the Champion Chase in 1998.
