Kim Bailey shares ideas for a King George shake-up – to boost entries and crowd figures
Jump racing is in full swing and every weekend there is another big race to enjoy on our TV screens. Two weeks ago, at Haydock, we watched the Venetia Williams-trained Royale Pagaille win the Betfair Chase at Haydock. His owner Rich Ricci celebrated his 100th Grade One winner – that’s some feat.
On the same card our Trelawne won the Graduation Chase – a big relief to all of us at Thorndale considering he was last seen falling at the Cheltenham Festival in the Ultima, won by his stablemate Chianti Classico.
Last weekend Paul Nicholls landed another Coral Gold Cup with Kandoo Kid at Newbury – having not won this race since the mighty Denman in 2009.
Up at Newcastle Nicky Henderson added his ninth Fighting Fifth Hurdle – not with the expected Constitution Hill, but Sir Gino. Constitution Hill was due to run but following a disappointing workout with Sir Gino he was subsequently found to be lame.
This weekend we have the Becher Chase at Aintree over the Grand National fences (we hope to run Chianti Classico), the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown and so it goes on right through December.
Time for change?
Yes, it is a hugely busy time for jump racing in the run-up to and over Christmas, with the pinnacle being the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton. But is the great race losing some of its appeal?
The public numbers at last year’s big-race meeting were marginally up from the previous year. But look at the figures. A crowd of 29,204 was recorded for Desert Orchid’s final King George appearance in 1991, compared to 11,703 last year.
One does wonder about the calculators used by racecourses, but it is indisputably true that the post-Covid attendances for British racing’s top winter prize have been very low.
Last year ’s attendance was fractionally up on the 2021 and 2022 totals, but significantly down on the 19,645 five-year average from 2015 to 2019. Even allowing for changes in the way crowd figures are recorded, that represents a big drop.
Then look at this year’s field. It lacks that wow factor you’d expect for this great race. Ten days ago Willie Mullins scratched all his entries, so the field size is down to 16 and only half of those are probable runners. Why? The sad factor here is that of the top 30 three-mile chasers, nearly 25 are trained in Ireland. This is the nub of the problem.
The King George is one of racing’s biggest draws and it is imperative we stop this race sliding even further down the ratings of good races. Kempton is looking tired as a racecourse – not helped by rumours that parts of the land around were being sold for building.
Perhaps it is time for a change – especially if Kempton cannot fill the racecourse as of old.
Charlie Brooks has been championing in his Telegraph articles to move the race to Ascot. They already have a hugely successful Christmas meet the weekend before Christmas, but Ascot is the ideal track to stage this prestigious race. It has the capacity, and good transport routes to the racecourse.
Oh, for a magic wand and a chance to rewrite the programme book. Yes, Ascot over Christmas. A two-day meeting with huge prize money and graded races to challenge the Irish and fill races with runners that take each other on because of the financial incentive. It’s only a dream, but who knows!
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