Ladbrokes King George VI Chase |
||
| Grade 1, Kempton Park 15:05 £250,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 3m, Class 1  |
||
|
||
1 Tornado Flyer 28/1
2 Clan Des Obeaux
7/2
3 Saint Calvados 25/1
9 ran Distances: 9l, 3½l, 8½l
Time: 6m 15.50s (slow by 21.50s)
Tornado Flyer picks up the pieces of a too-fast pace to give @WillieMullinsNH a second victory in the King George VI Chase for @dan2231 pic.twitter.com/976YVvyMYg https://t.co/9ZXJzz3jND via @RacingBetter
— RacingBetter (@RacingBetter) December 26, 2021
Trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Danny Mullins, Tornado Flyer was sent off a 28-1 shot – but made a mockery of that price as he came home clear in the Christmas feature.
He looked to be travelling well turning in and so it proved as he came home clear of Clan Des Obeaux, as his trainer Paul Nicholls swept the place honours with Saint Calvados third and Frodon fourth.
The winner’s stablemate Asterion Forlonge would have made the frame had he not crashed out at the last, while Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Minella Indo disappointed and 3-1 favourite Chantry House was pulled up.
Mullins senior stayed at home to saddle a strong team at Leopardstown, where he enjoyed three winners.
He said: “I was totally surprised. John Turner, who has a share in the horse, was on to me to bring him over as he said he’d like a runner on Boxing Day in Kempton and I said ‘why not?’.
“John couldn’t even go into the racecourse and had to watch from the last furlong in the car park because he had his elderly parents and was afraid to bring them into the crowd with covid. It’s a fantastic day for him.
“I thought we’d be lucky if he could run into the places and that was the instructions I gave Danny – to ride from the back and get all the prize-money you can.
“Danny was very cute on him. Every time I looked at Danny I was very happy with where he was and he was getting him to jump. You could see from five or six out that he was going to run a big race.”
Ladbrokes King George VI Chase
£250,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 3m, Class 1
9 ran
Going: Good to Soft, Soft in places
1 Tornado Flyer 8 11-10 W P Mullins Danny Mullins 28/1
2 9 Clan Des Obeaux 9 11-10 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 7/2
3 3½ Saint Calvados 8 11-10 Paul Nicholls Gavin Sheehan 25/1
4 8½ Frodon 9 11-10 Paul Nicholls Bryony Frost 7/1
5 5½ Lostintranslation 9 11-10 Colin Tizzard Brendan Powell 28/1
FELL Asterion Forlonge 7 11-10 W P Mullins B J Cooper
PU Minella Indo 8 11-10 Henry De Bromhead Rachael Blackmore 100/30
PU Mister Fisher 7 11-10 Nicky Henderson Sean Bowen 33/1
PU Chantry House 7 11-10 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville 3/1F
