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How the King George has muddied this year's Cheltenham Festival picture - plus more key talking points

Maddy Playle looks at some of the issues to have emerged from the entries for the major chases

Banbridge (right): stayed on best to beat Il Est Francais
King George: has muddied rather than clarified this year's Cheltenham Festival pictureCredit: Alan Crowhurst

The King George normally provides some clarity on the state of the staying-chase division. However, despite being one of the deepest runnings for years, this season's renewal has done little to clear up the Cheltenham Festival picture.

Perhaps it is because the race was run at such a ferocious tempo and very few horses from behind could make any sort of impact, but last month's Kempton showpiece may not provide an easy-to-read guide to finding festival winners.

This is exemplified by the first two, Banbridge and Il Est Francais, both being still in contention for all three championship races at Cheltenham, and it is genuinely hard to know which race they will run in.

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Published on inFestival Fields

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