Ladbrokes King George VI Chase
Grade 1, Kempton Park 14:30
£250,000 guaranteed,
4yo plus,
3m, Class 1  
Friday 26th December 2025

1 The Jukebox Man 7/1
2 Banbridge 16/1
3 Gaelic Warrior 9/4J
8 ran Distances: nse, nse, ½l
Time: 5m 49.13s (fast by 6.87s)

The Jukebox Man delivered a performance for the ages to emerge victorious from a pulsating renewal, carrying the famous colours of former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp to glory on Boxing Day.

A high-class field of eight lined up for the festive showpiece, with Willie Mullins doubly represented by Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File, while Nicky Henderson’s Ascot winner Jango Baie also featured prominently in the market. From flagfall it was Il Est Francais who ensured a searching gallop, with The Jukebox Man settled just off the pace for much of the three-mile journey.

Ben Pauling’s charge, sent off at 7-1, began to creep closer approaching the home turn and, under a confident ride from Ben Jones, moved into the lead before the final bend. As they straightened for home the field converged, setting up a gripping finale.

Four remained firmly in contention at the last fence – The Jukebox Man, Gaelic Warrior, Jango Baie and defending champion Banbridge – and what followed was a stirring duel all the way to the line. After a tense wait, it was The Jukebox Man who was adjudged a nose in front of Banbridge, trained by Joseph O’Brien, to seal a dramatic success.

A beaming Redknapp, who had enjoyed success with the horse on this card 12 months earlier, said: “That’s a dream and to have a horse that good is unbelievable. I love the game, to come here on King George day and just run made me so proud, but to have the winner is special.

“What a race he has run and he jumped unbelievable. When they came to him I thought he was beat and would finish fourth, but he’s come again and the guts the horse has shown is just amazing.”

Pauling struggled to put the finish into words, saying: “It really is the moment where you score the winning goal in the cup final with a minute to go. It’s as tight as it gets and I had no idea how we got on. The cameras thought he won, but I didn’t want to believe it until I heard that tannoy.

“It’s something very special and Harry has been an exceptional owner for me and we’ve always had a huge amount of luck. I’ve always had huge faith in this horse and so has Harry as well.

“We’ve won Festival races and we’ve won Grade Ones, but this is the best we’ve achieved to date, this is a pretty good Christmas present.

“I said to Ben going out ‘don’t hate me, but I want you to be as brave as you can be’. Ben got it perfect and went from fence to fence. The only one he got in tight to was the last, to get back up again was incredible as no one was stopping. He’s a character with a big engine and a big heart.

“It’s very exciting for the future. You would be daft not to go to the Gold Cup now and what a race that will be.”

Although Pauling has previously enjoyed success at the top level, this victory marked a defining moment in his training career.

He added: “It’ll take me a few days I think for this to sink in especially after the hangover, but these are the days we want to be a part of.

“It’s our first proper runner in one of these elite chases and to compete would have been great but to win it is amazing.

“From Haydock (comeback after injury sidelined him after Kempton last year) to here has been foot-perfect. He’s not going to be seen again now until Cheltenham, so if I can do the same again, then fingers crossed it will be exciting.”

For Jones, the success represented the pinnacle of his riding career so far.

He said: “I thought I’d won a head, but the girls came over and they weren’t sure. I didn’t want to celebrate in case I looked silly and I guess I can retire happy now.

“It’s right up there as the biggest day as my career and it’s got to be the most fun I’ve had out there on the racecourse. The big wins always seem to come in these colours which I don’t mind and it’s brilliant.

“Someone said to me ‘your name is going to be on the list alongside all the other jockeys that have won it’ and to go on there among some of the greats means an awful lot.”

Ladbrokes King George VI Chase
£250,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 3m, Class 1
8 ran
Going: Good, Good to Soft in places

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1    The Jukebox Man 7 11-10 Ben Pauling Ben Jones 7/1
2 nse Banbridge 9 11-10 Joseph O'Brien Sean Bowen 16/1
3 nse Gaelic Warrior 7 11-10 W P Mullins Paul Townend 9/4J
4 ½ Jango Baie 6 11-10 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville 9/4J
5 7½ Djelo 7 11-10 Venetia Williams Charlie Deutsch 14/1
6 1¾ Fact To File 8 11-10 W P Mullins Mark Walsh 3/1
7 29 Master Chewy 8 11-10 Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davie 100/1
PU Il Est Francais 7 11-10 Tom George Harry Cobden 20/1

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