Tony McFadden highlights the five best winners of the King George VI Chase this century based on the Timeform performance rating they clocked.
Kauto Star (2009) - Timeform performance rating 188
Kauto Star's fourth King George success was not only the best performance in the race in the 21st century but, at the time, it represented the best performance by a jumps horse since the era of Arkle and Flyingbolt in the 1960s.
Kauto Star ended up winning 16 Grade 1s during a majestic career that spanned ten seasons, but there's little doubt he was at the peak of his powers on Boxing Day in 2009.
Ollie Magern and Nacarat set a ferocious pace which dragged most of the field out of their comfort zone, but Kauto Star was always cruising and he sauntered into the lead on the turn for home before effortlessly drawing 36 lengths clear in the straight.
Part of Kauto Star’s popularity came from his longevity, and he ran to an astonishingly high level for a horse rising 12 when winning his record-breaking fifth King George on Boxing Day in 2011, notching a Timeform rating of 179.
Long Run (Jan 2011) - 182
Kauto Star may have been below his best in his bid for a fifth consecutive King George, but racegoers - attending in January after the Boxing Day fixture had been frozen off - were still treated to a truly outstanding performance as Long Run announced himself as a new star on the scene.
Long Run, five years the junior of Kauto Star, had been beaten in the Paddy Power Gold Cup on his seasonal reappearance but he took a huge step forward at Kempton, avoiding the mistakes that had cost him dearly at Cheltenham.
Long Run was clearly going better than Kauto Star from a long way out, and he was soon in control after being sent on at the third-last. He maintained the gallop up the straight, seeing things out powerfully, and he passed the post 12 lengths clear of Riverside Theatre, who inherited the runner-up spot after a below-par Kauto Star blundered badly at the second-last.
Cue Card (2015) - 180
This was an outstanding edition of the King George, featuring three top-notchers at the peak of their powers.
Don Cossack had won eight of his nine previous starts, including the Melling Chase and Punchestown Gold Cup, Vautour, long regarded as one of the most exciting horses in training, had been a stunning winner of the JLT Novices' Chase at the previous season's Cheltenham Festival, while Cue Card was arriving on the back of a second Betfair Chase victory.
Vautour, having a first crack at three miles, travelled powerfully at the head of affairs and was going best on the turn for home, but Cue Card and Don Cossack were staying in the fight, raising hopes of a thrilling conclusion.
A rallying Don Cossack departed at the second-last, but there was still a grandstand finish as Cue Card dug deep and overhauled Vautour in the final strides to register a famous victory.
Timeform, incidentally, took the view that Don Cossack, a stronger stayer than the front pair, would probably have won had he completed and rated him accordingly with a figure of 183.
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Kicking King (2004) - 177
A field of 13 went to post for the 2004 King George - the joint-largest in the race this century - but only one horse counted in the straight, with all eyes on Kicking King after he had powered clear of top-class two-miler Azertyuiop.
Kicking King had largely jumped boldly and with accuracy but he ploughed through the final fence, virtually bringing him to a standstill and giving hope to Azertyuiop and the staying-on Kingscliff who were around eight lengths behind.
Barry Geraghty, who had done well to maintain the partnership with Kicking King and also had to be alert to an errant Santa Claus crossing the course, got his mount going again and eventually scored by two and a half lengths - a margin that grossly underplayed Kicking King's superiority.
First Gold (2000) - 176
French raiders are something of a rarity over jumps in Britain nowadays but when First Gold landed the King George VI Chase in 2000 he was providing trainer Francois Doumen with a remarkable fifth victory in the race in 13 years following wins for Nupsala (1987), The Fellow (1991 and 1992) and Algan (1994).
First Gold had won a Grade 1 over three and a quarter miles on heavy ground on his previous outing at Auteuil, so three miles on good going around Kempton's speed-favouring circuit posed a different test
But First Gold, ridden by the trainer's son Thierry, responded with an electric performance, putting in three memorably bold leaps up the straight as he stormed ten lengths clear of the top-class Florida Pearl, who would go on to win the following year's race.
