Photo: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images
The rat-a-tat series of three Grade One races at Kempton on Boxing Day has rarely, if ever, seen a combination of high quality and more drama to match the action that unfolded here over the course of just over an hour on Tuesday played. , and Hewick's King George VI Chase win was, appropriately, the most gripping of them all.
From the first step, when the wayward Shishkin bounded away with the field, to the final, booming echoes of trainer Shark Hanlon's celebrations in the winners' enclosure, this was a race and an experience that few in the crowd of just under 12,000 people have experienced. will probably ever forget.
Related: King George VI Chase: Hewick wins after Shishkin slips - as it happened
The first shouts came from the stands early on the first circuit as Frodon and Bryony Frost, the winners of three years ago, flew over several fences along the back just inside the wings. Shishkin and Nico de Boinville then joined them for much of the next mile, matching strides and jumps until Frodon began to tire with about a mile to run.
Shishkin was still in the lead as the three of them rode home to jump and the hum from the stands started to turn into a roar. Allaho, the favorite, and Bravemansgame were in hot pursuit and the "big three" in the betting seemed to be going clear and getting ready to slam the ball to the line. Hewick, meanwhile, was the last of the six runners, going off the stretch and apparently going nowhere fast, so much so that after departing at 12-1 he was matched at 549-1 in-run on Betfair.
The next twist came at the penultimate, where Shishkin jumped well, but two steps later stumbled and released his rider, hindering Braveman's play as he did so. It seemed that Allaho would now lose the race. But the greens of Hewick and Gavin Sheehan, who had at least half a dozen lengths to find at the penultimate, were suddenly pressing on the leaders.
Hewick was still at least two lengths behind at the end, with only a short run-up, but he finished so well - or perhaps the horses in front of him stopped so quickly - that he roared past by half an advantage. -ten steps left. Sheehan even had time to pull out what he described as a "Mikael Barzalona" celebration, remembering the French rider's joy at Pour Moi in the 2011 Derby.
The story continues
That was just a taste of what awaited in the winner's enclosure, as the unmistakable figure of John "Shark" Hanlon prepared to welcome back a horse he had originally bought for £800, after the better contenders from some of the biggest stables in the game.
Some of the language was as colorful as the trainer's, but Hanlon's general mood could be summed up by his shout to the crowd: "We're not here for a long time, so we're going to have a damn good time. " He also insists that while the Grand National at Aintree is probably the ideal target for Hewick, there is no way he will be able to avoid the Cheltenham Gold Cup after winning a King George.
"If I came in the back, I said we would still be in the top three," Hanlon said. "He's a little horse, but he has such a heart.
"When you get here [after the King George] you should be going for a Gold Cup and Cheltenham will suit this horse much better as it is a tougher three and a quarter miles. There were a lot of other horses having problems, and we came here fresh and had a great guy on board, and that was it.
"I never thought he would be 12-1 today. This doesn't normally happen when you buy an £800 horse [but] he is as tough a horse as you will find in England or Ireland.
Sheehan admitted that in any other race he would have been tempted to stick with Hewick with no less than a circuit to run, but he realized his horse had plenty more to give.
"I jumped two and thought, this isn't happening," the jockey said, "and the further I went, the more I thought it wasn't happening.
"I never felt comfortable, became fluent, or thought I would. But he still held to his position, and when I gave him two reminders, I began to feel an acceleration and a new horse beneath me.
"When Nico went down, I thought I would finish third, happy days. And until the end I thought about the boys [in front] have disappeared, it was a brilliant feeling.
"Words can't describe it because you don't go and suddenly you have to compete against such stylish horses, and go to the last like a fresh horse. To do that was just huge."
Hill continues to climb to the top
A champion of the present and a potential champion of the future produced memorable displays on the undercard here Tuesday as Constitution Hill, the best hurdler in training and perhaps the best of all time, extended his undefeated career record to eight races in the Christmas Hurdle, 35 minutes after Il Est Francais had done everything they could to win the Kauto Star Novice Chase.
Constitution Hill's victory was at no point in doubt, but the 1-12 favorite certainly looked more impregnable than ever as he flew over the final two hurdles with astonishing ease. He was almost 10 lengths clear on the line and will have a maximum of one more run before competing in his second Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.
"I've never seen one jump better and the big secret of all these good two-milers... is the way they get from A to B," Constitution Hill trainer Nicky Henderson said.
"We want to win the Champion Hurdle again. I would be very surprised if we don't do that [try to win multiple Champion Hurdles]."
Il Est Francais' performance earlier on the card was reminiscent of the days when French-trained chasers including The Fellow, First Gold and Jair Du Cochet were regular winners at this meeting.
Only one mistake was made in an otherwise flawless jumping round, leaving Hermes Allen, the favorite, floundering in his wake.
"The dream this season is to win the French Gold Cup [in late May]" says Noel George, who trains Il Est Francais near Chantilly in collaboration with Amanda Zetterholm. "Then a King George here next year would be very much what we would think, but whether he would go to Cheltenham [this season]we should see that.
'I thought James [Reveley, his jockey] went too fast, but he was just in his comfort zone.
Autonomous Cloud can find success in National
Plenty of rain is forecast for Chepstow ahead of the Welsh Grand National meeting on Wednesday, but with the ground described as good to soft tonight it seems unlikely it will be as muddy as it is now. often the case.
That could favor a stylish and improving younger horse against the veterans and sloggers, with Fergal O'Brien's Autonomous cloud (2.50) possibly the choice of the second season's pursuers.
He is closely tied with Jonjo O'Neill's Iron Bridge in terms of their form when he finished first and second at Uttoxeter in March, but Autonomous Cloud has made a more promising start to this season and his ability to continue to find more when needed should could prove invaluable during Wednesday's marathon trip. .
Chepstow 1.05 First flow was just 4lb behind the promising Boothill - a runner at Kempton later this afternoon - when he returned to action at Ascot last month and Will certainly seems to like this return to two and a half miles.
Wetherby 11.50 Same 12.25 Abbeyhill 1.00 Gazette Bourgeoise 1.35 Banteer 2.15 Kabral Du Mathan 2.45 Cornerstone Lad 3.20 The Northernlights
Chepstow 12.00 Minella Blueway 12.30 Imperial Saint 1.05 First Flow 1.40 Classic Concorde (nb) 2.10 Burdett Road 2.50 Autonomous Cloud (nap) 3.25 Showbusiness 3.55 Rocking Man
Kempton 12.45 Brookie 1.20 Sir Gino 1.55 Nickle Back 2.30 Boothill 3.09 Hidden Heroics 3.40 Lassue
Wolverhampton 5.00 Bomb Squad 5.30 One last hug 6.00 Completely random 6.30 Queensland Boy 7.00 Lady of Spain 7.30 Ice Shadow 8.00 Secret sauce 8.30 Katar
Chepstow 1.40 A 6-pound increase in weights may not be enough to prevent production Classic Concorde after his victory at Ffos Las last month. That was his fourth success in five starts and Connor Brace had more in hand than the margin of just under four lengths would suggest.
Kempton Park 1.55 Nickel back has made an excellent start to his chasing career and the form of his six-and-a-half length second to Hermes Allen last time out was evident when the winner ran a fine race in the Grade One here on Tuesday.
Chepstow 2.10 Burdettweg was useful on the Flat and was a class above his rivals at Cheltenham last time out. That was enough to make him favorite for the Triumph Hurdle in March and he should underline his Grade One potential here.
Kempton 2.30am The first edition of this race as a limited handicap could well go Harry Fry's way Boothill, who has risen just £3 in the ratings for the last of his two wins in the closely contested Ascot handicaps so far this season.
Kempton 3.09 Hidden exploits It's taken a while to find his form this year, but Dan Skelton's gelding ran his best race of the season, winning at Ludlow last time out and is more than capable of following up on a 2lb higher score.
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Kempton 3.40 Fergal O'Brien's Lassue has returned from an 18-month layoff in impressive form and was beaten by less than a length last time out when third in a useful race at Ascot. She clearly gets on well with the useful conditional Jack Hogan and his 3lb claim is an added bonus.
