Ladbrokes King George VI Chase: Corbetts Cross on target

By David Ord

Horse Racing

Wed December 18, 2024 · 5h ago

Emmet Mullins is happy Corbetts Cross is on track for the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

The only question mark is the ground, currently 'good to soft, good in places', and the trainer wouldn’t want it to dry out further for him.

The seven-year-old was one of the leading staying novice chasers last season, winning the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham, but having made a satisfactory reappearance at Wexford in October, was a relatively late defector from the Betfair Chase at Haydock.

Speaking on Wednesday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast, the trainer said: "We’re happy enough with where we are. We weren’t quite happy around the time of the Betfair Chase, so we just took a pull and it’s been a clean enough run since.

“At Wexford it was just a case of the ground being right on the day and conditions and we just said we had to get a run into him at the time.

"He needed it but we were happy he didn’t get too tired and ran through the line on the day. It didn’t bottom him out too much.

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“It was mostly fitness around Betfair Chase time. We knew we were heading into a proper open-class Grade One and you just have to tick all the boxes. I don’t think we were quite ready for that on the day, but fingers crossed we’re very close to it now."

In terms of the ground at Kempton, he added: “We will be monitoring. Good to soft would be fine but with a nice big three-mile chaser you don’t want to be taking chances on good ground with him.

“He had a run on yielding ground at Naas over two miles over hurdles and he beat Found A Fifty, so I wouldn’t be too afraid looking back on that."

Mullins is also confident his charge’s jumping will stand up to the test on Boxing Day.

“I feel happier the better the pace. He was very keen early doors last season, and we put the hood on him and just when you’re trying to settle them and take them back you’re disrupting their rhythm.

“I think you’re trying to make them pop and I feel he’ll be better in a fast-run race where we’re not to worried about settling and leave him to attack his fences. Around Kempton you have to be on the pace and there’ll be no hiding place.”

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