Since 2014, how many favourites have won the King George VI Chase?

Run over three miles at Kempton on Boxing Day, the King George VI Chase is synonymous with some of the finest steeplechasers in history, including Arkle, Desert Orchid and Kauto Star, to name but three.One of just four races of its kind in Britain, the King George VI Chase is a Grade 1, ‘weight-for-age’ conditions contest, in which four-year-olds carry 11st 1lb, five-year-olds and upwards carry 11st 10lb and fillies and mares receive a 7lb allowance.

Thus, it is reasonable to expect that, more often than not, the King George VI Chase would be won by the horse, or at least one of the horses, with the highest official rating(s) in the field. Official ratings simply reflect the ability of a horse, in the eyes of the team of handicappers at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), so it stands to reason that the ‘best’ horse should win.

Of course, if horse races were run on paper, we would all be millionaires. The BHA handicappers do a sterling job in their assessment of horse racing form but, even so, the minutiae of the sport dictate that, even in a race like the King George VI Chase, the ‘best’ horse does not alway win. Since 2014, three favourites – Silviniano Conti (2014), Thistlecrack (2016) and Might Bite (2017) – have won the King George Chase, but in the same period have been accompanied by winners at 28/1, 20/1 and 12/1 (twice).