VINNDICATION FOR BOXING DAY TREAT

Paul Jacobs likes the look of the 33-1 outsider

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As we continue to climb the excitement mountain of the National Hunt season, leaving behind the Cheltenham Open meeting, Betfair Day at Haydock and what I still call the Hennessy Gold Cup (Ladbrokes Trophy) at Newbury, reputations will have been as quickly extinguished as they were made.

So while the supposed next Arkle, Envoi Allen, is being regarded by many as the banker of the Cheltenham Festival next March, in all probability in the Marsh Chase, so the tank is beginning to empty on the racing careers of the mighty atom, Tiger Roll and Defi Di Seuil, while Easysland is no longer the Cross Country mammoth we thought he was.

And so we move onto a Christmas Classic, the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day followed by the lung-bursting, hero-making Welsh National at Chepstow.

The former was long the domain of the Dickinson clan (6 wins), transformed into the land of the Desert Orchid (4 breathless victories) and then moved onto the Paul Nicholls’ show (11 successes).

So can the master of Ditcheat make it a round dozen? Well it is odds-on he will reach that amazing number, with Clan des Obeaux on a hat-trick aided and abetted by the highest-rated chaser in training, Cyrname.