Clan Des Obeaux, part-owned by legendary football manager Alex Ferguson, produced a storming finish to win the prestigious King George VI steeplechase at Kempton Park for the second straight year.
It was a record 11th victory in the traditional Boxing Day feature for trainer Paul Nicholls, who also saddled second-placed Cyrname, with Irish raider Footpad taking third.
Cyrname went off 5-4 favorite, with Nicholls’ stable jockey Harry Cobden siding with him over Clan Des Obeaux, but in testing conditions over the three-mile (4.8 km) course his decision backfired.
Clan Des Obeaux, ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies, was always traveling the better of the pair and pulled clear over the final two fences to win by 21 lengths.
Cyrname battled on to hold off Footpad to give the 11-time champion trainer his one-two, but the big disappointment of the race was the performance of Colin Tizzard’s highly-rated Lostintranslation.
Struggling to keep up with the pace, jockey Robbie Power pulled him up before the finish.
Nicholls said before the race that Clan Des Obeaux should not be ignored, particularly in heavy going after the persistent rain in the London area in recent days.
“I’ve always said he’s a better horse this year, as he’s a year older and stronger,” he told ITV Sport.
“If he keeps going forward it could put him in the (Cheltenham) Gold Cup picture. It was a tough call for Harry (over which horse to ride). I couldn’t really advise him what to do, it was a tough one.”
He added: “We’ve got to for 12 now, haven’t we? There’s no reason why both horses won’t be back next year. I just love winning the good races – preparing the horses for the big days is what I really enjoy more than anything now. It’s fantastic.”
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Ferguson, who enjoyed such success as Manchester United manager, has shares in a number of horses trained by the prolific Nicholls at his Manor Farm Stables in Somerset, and has also owned a Classic winner on the flat.
