Bravemansgame wins King George and sets sight on Gold Cup for DJ owner after L’Homme Presse crashes out at the last

PAUL NICHOLLS is used to being the Man of the moment.

And he was once again the centre of attention at Kempton on Boxing Day, this time courtesy of the brilliant Bravemansgame.

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He gave the champion trainer an incredible 13th win in the King George - the sort of domination that is rarely seen in this country.

After all, no other trainer in the race’s long and rich history has won it more than four times. 

Saint Nich just loves it at this time of year and his stablestar was ho-ho-home and dry after big rival L’Homme Presse got rid of Charlie Deutsch at the last.

Bravemansgame probably had the race in the bag anyway when the 9-4 favourite exited stage left.

But that last-gasp unseat robbed us of a potentially epic finish to a thrilling race in which ‘the big two’ had gone toe-to-toe up the straight.

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And on more than one occasion L’Homme Presse was virtually stepping on Bravemansgame toes as he jumped across the winner almost throughout.

You’d struggle to find too many lefties in British racing, but Venetia Williams’ runner is certainly one of them and he will surely stick to going that way round in future.

Bravemansgame, meanwhile, was straight and true, and his jumping only got sharper as the pace was cranked up by his front-running stablemate Frodon.

He pulled a mile clear with his chief rival from three out and, having been left in splendid isolation at the final fence, Cobden was afforded the luxury of soaking up the cheers from a huge crowd on the run-in.

Nicholls, who recently spoke of becoming a dad at 60, said: “It was a hell of a race and he is a hell of a horse.

They went a good gallop and old Frodon, who has run another cracker, gave them a good lead. 

“He stayed on strongly and showed his strengths. He is just a maturing horse and we have trained him for today.

“The other horse was a little unfortunate to lose his pilot but he was beaten by then.

“We were very confident. Some of those bad runs in the spring you couldn’t judge him on as ours weren’t right. When he is right he is a very good horse. 

“We knew we had him at his best today. I loved the way he stayed on as all the way down the back he didn’t have a great passage as L’Homme Presse kept jumping across him. 

“But he came there hard on the bridle and stayed on well. It is just fantastic and to win it 13 times is unreal.”

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Earlier on the card, Constitution Hill made it a perfect 5-5 with an effortless win in the Christmas Hurdle.

With a starting price of 1-7, anything other than a procession would have been a disappointment. 

As has been the case throughout his short career, he not only lived up to expectations but exceeded them, breezing home 17 lengths clear of Epatante.

Nicky Henderson said: “It’s only his fifth start and again it was everything you’d hope for and everything he’s done before.

“You’ve just got to come into these days and pray everything goes right, it’s not that easy and just a matter of going out there and coming back – you’ve got to jump the hurdles and be in good shape. 

“Thankfully he is and so is Epatante - I’ve never seen her in better form and Aidan said there that she’s probably run as well there as she did when she won this on the bridle last year! 

“She was only chasing shadows to be honest and that just shows what he’s achieving, which is frightening really.”

So easy was the win that even his straight-laced jockey Nico de Boinville was in the mood to share a joke.

He said: “Rachael Blackmore didn’t have a whip because you aren’t allowed to carry one in hand luggage.

“I joked she could use mine because I wasn’t going to need it for Constitution Hill!”

Nico's here all week.

In the rescheduled Long Walk Hurdle, Paisley Park rolled back the years with a typically gutsy win under Aidan Coleman.

He will turn 11 in a few days’ time, but he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down and he stayed on powerfully to beat Goshen and Champ.

And Thyme Hill gave the Philip Hobbs team a welcome big race winner in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.

Hobbs was watching on from Wincanton but his wife Sarah was at Kempton, and she said: “The yard needed that.

“It’s important to have winners in these big races and he is our big gun. So for him to go out and win another Grade 1 is important for us.”

King George full result

1st 11-4 Bravemansgame

2nd 12-1 Royale Pagaille

3rd 18-1 Frodon

4th 18-1 Eldorado Allen

5th 12-1 Ahoy Senor

6th 40-1 Millers Bank

7th 4-1 Envoi Allen

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