The sixth and final game that takes place on Day One of The Christmas Festival at Kempton Park Racecourse every year is The Handicap Hurdle Race.
The Christmas Festival is a two-day National Hunt meeting held at Kempton Park Racecourse every winter, featuring 12 fantastic jump races such as The Christmas Hurdle, The Desert Orchid Chase, and, of course, The King George VI Chase.
The next edition of this incredible jump racing affair will take place on Sunday the 26th and Monday the 27th of December 2021. For all of The Kempton Christmas Festival’s news and ticket information, sign up for The Jockey Club’s newsletter at https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/newsletter/.
About The Race
The Handicap Hurdle Race is a Class 3 National Hunt handicap hurdle race that serves as the final race of King George VI Chase Day every year at Kempton Park Racecourse.
Open to horses aged three years old and up, The Handicap Hurdle Race runs 2 miles and 5 furlongs of Kempton Park Racecourse and features a number of tall hurdles for the horses and jockeys to jump.
The prize pot for this race was £16,400 last December, which was shared between the four placing horses in the following manner:
1st place – 25/1 Monte Cristo (FR) – £9,747
2nd place – 6/1 Ecco (GB) – £2,862
3rd place – 7/1 Riggs (IRE) – £1,431
4th place – 16/1 Top Man (IRE) – £716
The Handicap Hurdle Race will conclude Day One of The Christmas Festival at around 15:35 on Sunday the 26th of December 2021.
Runners
The runners that participate in The Handicap Hurdle Race always look to leave a lasting impression in this final race of King George VI Day and they often do a fantastic job of doing so.
Here are the runners, their starting prices and how they fared in this fantastic race at Kempton Park’s Christmas Festival at Kempton Park Racecourse last time out in 2020 (ordered by saddlecloth number):
- Jarveys Plate (IRE) – sixth-place finish – 28/1 starting price – weighing in at 11-12 – ridden by jockey Paddy Brennan and trained by Fergal O’Brien
- Whatsupwithyou (IRE) – fifth-place finish – 15/2 starting price – weighing in at 11-11 – ridden by jockey Luca Morgan and trained by Ben Pauling
- Dream Berry (FR) – Non-Runner – starting price N/A – weighing in at 11-9 – assigned jockey Jonjo O’Neill Jr and trained by Jonjo O’Neill
- Who’s My Jockey (IRE) – Non-Runner – starting price N/A – weighing in at 11-7 – assigned jockey Jack Tudor and trained by Richard Hobson
- Monte Cristo (FR) – first-place finish – 25/1 starting price – weighing in at 11-7 – ridden by jockey Daryl Jacob and trained by Nicky Henderson
- Ecco (GB) – second-place finish – 6/1 starting price – weighing in at 11-5 – ridden by jockey Harry Cobden and trained by Paul Nicholls
- Rathhill (IRE) – Pulled Up – 12/1 starting price – weighing in at 11-5 – ridden by jockey Aidan Coleman and trained by Nicky Henderson
- Coeur De Lion (GB) – Unseated Rider – 7/1 starting price – weighing in at 11-3 – ridden by jockey Max Browne and trained by Alan King
- Switch Hitter (IRE) – eighth-place finish – 7/1 starting price – weighing in at 11-1 – ridden by jockey Bryony Frost and trained by Paul Nicholls
- Push The Tempo (IRE) – tenth-place finish – 25/1 starting price – weighing in at 11-1 – ridden by Richard Johnson and trained by Robert Stephens
- Riggs (IRE) – third-place finish – 7/1 starting price – weighing in at 10-12 – ridden by jockey Harry Skelton and trained by Dan Skelton
- Let’s Get At It (IRE) – twelfth-place finish – 80/1 starting price – weighing in at 10-10 – ridden by jockey Tom Scudamore and trained by Nick Mitchell
- Runswick Bay (GB) – Pulled Up – 14/1 starting price – weighing in at 10-9 – ridden by jockey Adam Wedge and trained by Emma Lavelle
- Tel’art (FR) – ninth-place finish – 33/1 starting price – weighing in at 10-7 – ridden by jockey Kielan Woods and trained by Ben Pauling
- Barbados Blue (IRE) – eleventh-place finish – 11/2 starting price – weighing in at 10-7 – ridden by jockey Nico De Boinville and trained by Nicky Henderson
- Top Man (IRE) – fourth-place finish – 16/1 starting price – weighing in at 10-7 – ridden by jockey Tom Cannon and trained by Chris Gordon
- Distingo (IRE) – seventh-place finish – 16/1 starting price – weighing in at 10-4 – ridden by jockey Jamie Moore and trained by Gary Moore
Tips
Trust our team of professional horse racing tipsters this Christmas for the best chance of heading into the January sales with a small fortune to spend.
In fact, check back here for the best tips on any race hosted by Kempton Park Racecourse and grab a promo code for sign up offers and free bets, paid extra places promotions and more while you’re at it.
Odds
Odds for The Handicap Hurdle Race last time out ranged from 11/2 for the race favourite Barbados Blue up to 80/1 for the longest outsider Let’s Get At It.
The most recent edition of the race was won by 25/1 priced outsider Monte Cristo, who converted £10 outright stakes into £260 in returns, £250 in profits for those that backed him.
Previous Winners
Here are the previous 4 winners of The Handicap Hurdle Race on King George VI Chase Day at The Christmas Festival, including their odds, closest competitors and race stats:
2020
The winner of The Handicap Hurdle Race last time out at Kempton Park Racecourse was 25/1 priced outsider Monte Cristo, ridden by jockey Daryl Jacob and trained by Nicky Henderson.
6/1 priced second-favourite Ecco finished seven lengths behind Monte Cristo in second place, followed by 7/1 priced Riggs in third place and 16/1 priced Top Man in fourth.
2019
10/1 priced Honest Vic, ridden by jockey Tom Scudamore and trained by Henry Daly, won The Handicap Hurdle Race on King George VI Day in 2019.
7/1 priced Star Of Lanka finished two and three-quarter lengths behind Honest Vic in second place, followed by 9/1 Our Power in third place and 40/1 priced long outsider Gortroe Joe in fourth.
2018
At Kempton Park Racecourse in 2018, the winner of The Handicap Hurdle Race was 7/1 priced Erick Le Rouge, ridden by jockey Chester Williams and trained by Jane Williams.
Equally priced Mellow Ben finished just three-quarters of a length behind Erick Le Rouge in second place, followed by 10/1 priced Who’s My Jockey in third place and 6/1 priced Ballyandy in fourth.
2017
Golan Fortune, the 7/2 priced second favourite, won The Handicap Hurdle Race on Day One of The Christmas Festival in 2017, ridden by jockey Thomas O’Brien and trained by Phil Middleton.
3/1 priced race favourite Kildisart finished three and three-quarter lengths behind Golan Fortune in second place, followed by 14/1 priced Jaleo in third place and 12/1 priced Connetable in fourth.
