'Lovely ground' leaves Irish and French runners in festive spirits on Christmas Day as Kempton remains good, good to soft

The ground for the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton is a mixture of good and good to soft, with conditions given the thumbs up by representatives of the French and Irish runners who galloped on the track on Christmas Day morning.

The Boxing Day highlight features the strongest Irish and French challenge in recent years with Spillane's Tower, Il Est Francais and Banbridge among the main contenders. 

Meanwhile, Willie Mullins' stable stars Lossiemouth and Ballyburn warmed up on the track for headline clashes with Constitution Hill and Sir Gino across the two-day meeting at Kempton.

The track is described as 60/40 between good and good to soft and there is no rain forecast before Thursday's action.

Kempton's clerk of the course Barney Clifford said: "We're good, good to soft in places. It was damp on Christmas Eve and it'll be the same on Christmas Day. It [the rain] wasn't anything measurable, but just enough. 

"The GoingStick is coming out at 6.7 and 6.5 which would indicate we're in the centre between good and good to soft.

"We're really looking forward to it. I can never remember such a strong Irish challenge in the King George, and we've got three French horses too, which is phenomenal. The horses exercised on the track on Christmas Day morning and everyone said it was lovely ground. I walked the track with [trainer] David Cottin and he was very happy, so we're all systems go.

"It'll start off misty and foggy on Boxing Day and clear from mid-to-late morning. We might get sunny periods later on in the afternoon."

The going remains good to soft, soft in places at Aintree for the Grade 1 William Hill Formby Novices' Hurdle.

Ladbrokes King George VI Chase, Kempton, Thursday
Ladbrokes: 3 Spillane's Tower, 4 Il Est Francais, 5 Banbridge, 11-2 Grey Dawning, Banbridge, 10 L'Homme Presse, Envoi Allen, 11 Bravemansgame, 16 Corbetts Cross, 22 The Real Whacker,  25 Juntos Ganamos, 50 General En Chef. 

Read more:

2024 King George VI Chase tips: 'He can breeze around this tighter track' - why this horse can win at Kempton on Boxing Day 

2024 King George VI Chase: the runners, the odds, the verdict 

'The 7-4 available is massive' - your Christmas racing questions answered 

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