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Simply put, yes, he was, not once, but five times, an achievement all the more remarkable for the fact that he was a direct contemporary of Lester Piggott, Pat Eddery and Steve Cauthen who, collectively, won the Flat Jockeys’ Championship 25 times between them. Born in Stirling, central Scotland, on November 16, 1942, William Fisher Hunter Carson, invariably known as ‘Willie’, rode his first winner at Catterick on July 19, 1962 and his last at Doncaster on September 13, 1996. In the intervening 34 years, 1 month and 25 days, he rode 3,826 more, for a career total of 3,828 winners, which makes him the fourth most successful Flat jockey in British history, behind only Sir Gordon Richards (4,870), Eddery (4,633) and Piggott (4,493).

Carson was Champion Jockey for the first time in 1972, the year in which he won the first of 17 British Classics, the 2,000 Guineas, on High Top, trained by Bernard van Cutsem. While still riding in the North of England, he was Champion Jockey again in 1973, increasing his seasonal tally to 164 from 132, but would not ride another Classic winner until 1977. That was the year he succeeded Joe Mercer as stable jockey to Major Dick Hern at West Isley and won the Oaks and the St. Leger on Dunfermline, owned by Queen Elizabeth II.

Carson won the Flat Jockeys’ Championship again in 1978 with 182 winners, in 1980 with 166 winners, including Known Fact in the 2,000 Guineas, Bireme in the Oaks and Henbit in the Derby, and in 1983 with 159 winners, including Sun Princess in the Oaks and the St. Leger. Ironically, Carson achieved his highest seasonal tally, 187, or five more than in his third title-winning season in 1978, in 1990, but could only finish second, behind Pat Eddery, in the Flat Jockeys’ Championship.

As the National Hunt season winds down for the summer months, fans of jump racing are already beginning to plot their ante-post punts for the tail-end of 2023 and into next year.

Christmas feels like a long old stretch away, but you can be assured that it will be here in the blink of an eye – and with it, amongst all the usual festivities, will come a return to top-flight jumps racing.

The King George VI Chase is one of the highlights of the festive calendar, and Bravemansgame will be seeking to defend his title and complete a unique hat-trick at Kempton Park.

Home Comforts

Some horses simply have a penchant for certain racecourses.

Bravemansgame has occasionally flattered to deceive in top-tier action, but there’s something about the unique conditions at Kempton he seems to love. And that’s why the eight-year-old leads the way for those betting online horse racing for the King George, where he’s the 13/8 ante-post favourite ahead of the likes of Shishkin (4/1), Allaho (8/1) and Gold Cup champion Galopin Des Champs (12/1).

Paul Nicholls’ horse won the 2022 edition of the King George in impressive fashion, enjoying a 14-length cushion over the nearest challenger Royale Pagaille. Even a chaotic exit from the favourite, L’Homme Presse, who unseated Charlie Deutsche, cannot detract from the imperious nature of Bravemansgame’s victory.

That came 12 months after the Bryan Drew owned horse had picked up a first win at Kempton’s Christmas Festival. That was in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase – a race named after the incomparable five-time King George winner, where Bravemansgame defeated the fancied Ahoy Senor by a comfortable seven-length margin.

It’s interesting that Bravemansgame has twice been beaten when well-backed at Aintree (2022 Mildmay Novices’ Chase) and Punchestown (2023 Gold Cup), and he had little chance against Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.

But get this three-mile powerhouse onto the turf at Kempton and he seems to perk up considerably – a fact not lost on those building their ante-post bets.

Will Three Be the Magic Number for Shishkin?

One of the questions long-range punters will be asking themselves during the summer hiatus is how well will Shishkin take to the longer three-mile trip over fences?

The credentials of Nicky Henderson’s horse are, for the most part, not in question. Despite a somewhat below-par 2022 campaign, the nine-year-old bounced back with a stunning 16-length victory in the Ascot Chase in January.

A narrow defeat at Cheltenham to the excellent Envoi Allen was a bump in the road, before Henderson offered a tantalising glimpse of the 2023/24 season by running Shishkin over three miles in the Aintree Bowl in April.

The result? A narrow triumph over the likes of Ahoy Senor and former Gold Cup winner A Plus Tard – a run in which he notably ran on well amongst stiff competition.

So three miles is unlikely to be an issue for Shishkin, and with a prior win at Kempton Park to his name in the Desert Orchid Chase, he too could be primed for a tilt at the King George in December.

The prospect of a Bravemansgame vs Shishkin battle in mouth-watering… what a way that will be to kickstart the new National Hunt season.

To avoid any confusion, perhaps our first port of call in answering this question should be to define exactly what we mean by a ‘championship’ race as far as the Cheltenham Festival is concerned. Strictly speaking, any one of the 14 Grade One races contested over the four days could be described as a ‘championship’ race in one discipline or another. However, traditionally, the term was reserved for the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Stayers’ Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, one of which is run as the ‘feature’ race, midway through the card, on each day of the Cheltenham Festival. The introduction of the Festival Trophy, a.k.a. the Ryanair Chase, run over the intermediate distance of 2 miles 4½ furlongs, in 2005 and, moreover, its promotion to Grade One status three years later, has rather muddied the waters in that respect.

In any event, regardless of whether we consider four or five championship races the Cheltenham Festival, the answer to headline question is a resounding ‘yes’. The leading trainer in the history of the March showpiece, with 88 winners to his name, Mullins first won the Champion Hurdle with Hurricane Fly (2011 and 2013) and has since won the two-mile hurdling championship twice more, with Faugheen (2015) and Annie Power (2016). In that latter year, he opened his account in the Ryanair Chase with Vautour and has since won four of the last six runnings, with Un De Sceaux (2017), Min (2020) and Allaho (2021 and 2022).

The Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Queen Mother Champion were later additions to Mullins’ CV. Having previously saddled the runner-up in the ‘Blue Riband’ event no fewer than six times, Mullins finally broke his lengthening hoodoo with Al Boum Photo (2019 and 2020), before completing a nap hand in the ‘championship’ races with Energumene in the Queen Mother Champion Chase (2022).