Kempton Park: William Hill Winter Festival

Kauto Star won a record fifth King George VI Chase at Kempton Park last Boxing Day one year after Long Run denied the best steeplechaser of his generation an unprecedented fifth straight win. Had the 2011 win gone to Long Run ? a horse half the age of his rival ? it would have perhaps confirmed that Kauto Star had been usurped as the supreme steeplechaser. But victory for Kauto Star days short of his 12th birthday in what was arguably his finest performance in the three-mile race led jockey Ruby Walsh to name his steed the undisputed king of national hunt racing, claiming he had "lasted longer than any other horse". The King George VI Chase is the showpiece event at the two-day post-Christmas William Hill Winter Festival at Kempton, the closest racecourse to central London. The King George VI is one of three Grade 1 races on Boxing Day, the best of the two days of racing. Both days should prove a great opportunity for racing fans to get a piece of the action so get your tickets early to avoid disappointment. With 12 races in total across the two days, the Winter Festival is the mid-season jump racing festival you simply cannot afford to miss (provided you hedge your bets correctly).