King George VI Chase: Previous Winners

The King George VI Chase at Kempton is one of Britain's most prestigious races and has been part of the racing calendar since 1937.

While there are several high-profile National Hunt races throughout the jumps season in Britain, the King George is unique, as it is one of the most prestigious events on a flat track for "staying chasers" - horses who specialise in racing over longer distances.

Paul Nicholls' Bravemansgame joined the list of greats to win the King George VI Chase at Kempton in 2022 as he saw off Royale Pagaille by 14-lengths, thus extending his trainers' record tally of wins to 13 in the Boxing Day showpiece. 

Harry Cobden was in the saddle and he never looked in any bother, breezing through the field and taking up the lead before jumping the last. L'homme Presse unseated rider at the last when a length down which left Bravemansgame in total command.

Here's the complete list of every King George VI Chase winner since 2000, with a reminder that you can watch the next instalment on Boxing Day, Tuesday 26th December 2023, via the bet365 Sports Live Streaming Service.

What	King George VI Chase
Where	Kempton Racecourse, Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey
When	2.30, Tuesday 26th December 2023
How to watch	bet365 Sports Live Streaming, ITV & Racing TV
Odds	Gerri Colombe 5/2, Bravemansgame 11/4, Allaho 10/3, Shishkin 8/1, Royale Pagaille 8/1

The early 2000s

A decade where we saw three trainers win the race multiple times with Henrietta Knight winning the race in successive years with two different horses, the great Kicking King winning back to back for Irish trainer Tom Taaffe, Paul Nicholls winning the race four years on the bounce with the magnificent Kauto Star and a French winner thrown in too.

Year	Horse	Age	Jockey	Trainer
2000	First Gold	7	Thierry Doumen	Francois Doumen
2001	Florida Pearl	9	Adrian Maguire	Willie Mullins
2002	Best Mate	7	Tony McCoy	Henrietta Knight
2003	Edredon Bleu	11	Jim Culloty	Henrietta Knight
2004	Kicking King	6	Barry Geraghty	Tom Taaffe
2005	Kicking King	7	Barry Geraghty	Tom Taaffe
2006	Kauto Star	6	Ruby Walsh	Paul Nicholls
2007	Kauto Star	7	Ruby Walsh	Paul Nicholls
2008	Kauto Star	8	Ruby Walsh	Paul Nicholls
2009	Kauto Star	9	Ruby Walsh	Paul Nicholls

2010 to 2019

This era was dominated by three trainers who stamped British dominance on the King George VI Chase. Again, the master of Ditcheat Paul Nicholls won multiple times along with Nicky Henderson and Colin Tizzard

Year	Horse	Age	Jockey	Trainer
2010	Long Run	6	Sam Waley-Cohen	Nicky Henderson
2011	Kauto Star	11	Ruby Walsh	Paul Nicholls
2012	Long Run	7	Sam Waley-Cohen	Nicky Henderson
2013	Silviniaco Conti	7	Noel Fehily	Paul Nicholls
2014	Silviniaco Conti	8	Noel Fehily	Paul Nicholls
2015	Cue Card	9	Paddy Brennan	Colin Tizzard
2016	Thistlecrack	8	Tom Scudamore	Colin Tizzard
2017	Might Bite	8	Nico de Boinville	Nicky Henderson
2018	Clan Des Obeaux	6	Harry Cobden	Paul Nicholls
2019	Clan Des Obeaux	7	Sam Twiston-Davies	Paul Nicholls

2020 to 2022

Surprise, surprise, Paul Nicholls is the main man again in this decade, winning the race twice with Frodon and Bravemansgame, but Willie Mullins became the first Irish trainer to win the race since Tom Taaffe won it in 2005 with Kicking King when Tornado Flyer caused an upset in 2021.

Year	Horse	Age	Jockey	Trainer
2020	Frodon	8	Bryony Frost	Paul Nicholls
2021	Tornado Flyer	8	Danny Mullins	Willie Mullins
2022	Bravemansgame	7	Harry Cobden	Paul Nicholls

Most successful horse

Kauto Star is a household name and for very good reason. Paul Nicholls' superstar won the King George VI Chase a staggering five times – in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011.

Owned by Clive Smith, Kauto Star epitomised why people adore National Hunt racing. He was so versatile and he had a very long career at the very top, being the only horse ever to be the highest rated over 2m, 2m4f and 3m in the same season. 

He became the first horse ever to win a Grade 1 race in six consecutive seasons but he had to go and better than of course and went on to land a Grade 1 in seven consecutive seasons. 

Kauto Star achieved a Racing Post rating of 192 which is the highest ever awarded to a National Hunt horse, and it's unlikely we will ever see a horse match his achievements in the King George VI Chase.

Most successful jockey

We can't talk about the great achievements of Kauto Star without mentioning the jockey who guided him to victory in the King George VI Chase five times, and that was Ruby Walsh who was aboard for all five victories.

Leading trainer

Paul Nicholls is without doubt the absolute king of the race. The Ditcheat handler has a staggering 13 victories in the contest with See More Business (1997, 1999), Kauto Star (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011), Silviniaco Conti (2013, 2014), Clan Des Obeaux (2018, 2019), Frodon (2020), and Bravemansgame (2022).

Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.