King George VI Chase: Don Cossack looks for first Irish win in 10 years

A star is missing but this race still promises to be a Christmas cracker

Going into this season few couldn’t help but be excited by the staying chasers division. After mightily impressive performances from the likes of Coneygree, Don Cossack and Vautour, the stage was set for a new era of National Hunt racing.

Coneygree, the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, is sadly absent after falling victim to the frailties that have blighted his career. A misfortune that has made his precocious talent and trainer’s skill even more evident.

A Christmas cracker of a race is still very much on offer though. Don Cossack heads the market after four comfortable wins in a row, despite some fierce opposition. Gordon Elliott’s charge is finally developing into the star that he had promised to be, having dispatched Djakadam and Road to Riches, last year’s Gold Cup second and third, even more emphatically than Coneygree could manage.

Don Cossack ridden by Tony McCoy jumps the last fence on their way to winning the Betfred Melling Steeple Chase at Aintree Racecourse on April 10, 2015 in Liverpool, England (Alex Livesey / Getty Images Sport)

There appears very little not to like about this Sholokhov gelding, who goes on any ground and has shown the speed to win over shorter distances. 9/4 may prove to be the best price taken on this horse for a long time.

Vautour certainly promised plenty after a breath-taking win at the Cheltenham Festival last year. Few will doubt his ability, yet a couple of factors make Willie Mullins’ chaser a less likable proposition. The son of Robin Des Champs comes alive in the spring but may be opposable at this time of year (his only defeat since arriving from France came on Boxing Day 2014).

There is also the concern regarding his dislike of right-handed tracks, such as Kempton. Not something you’d like to worry about in a race when any jumping errors can severely damage your chances.

It’s fantastic to see Cue Card better than ever this year, something that sadly can’t be said of Silviniaco Conti, winner of this race for the last two years. It is still hard to be so dismissive of a horse seeking a hat trick in the same race, making Paul Nicholls’ charge a fair each way bet.

Of the remainder Smad Place looked on a very upward curve from his Hennessy win but will need to keep riding that to compete with the best here.

There may be each way value in some of the bigger prices here, with so many classy horses being ridden to win. If those better horses suffer the consequences for taking on the likes of Don Cossack and Vautour, Irish Cavalier could be one to make the top three.

Should Rebecca Curtis’ yard have conquered a nasty bug, significant improvement could see the grey earn some valuable prize money.