Harry Redknapp says he’s ‘in Champions League’ after Jukebox’s King George hit | King George VI Chase

“Today, we’ve gone into the Champions League,” Harry Redknapp, the owner of The Jukebox Man, said after his horse had fought back to win an extraordinary three-way photo-finish in the King George VI Chase here on Friday. “We got into the Premier League, which was fantastic, but today we were taking on the Real Madrids and Barcelonas and he proved he can compete with them and win against them, which was an amazing feeling.”

It was, in truth, simply an amazing race from start to finish, with one of the most enthralling passages of action from the home turn to the line that anyone here could recall in a Grade One steeplechase. Kempton is unloved by the Jockey Club, its owners, which has signed over an option to developers that would see it bulldozed for housing, but its speed-favouring, right-handed track is something special and unique in British jumping and here it produced an all-time classic for a sell-out crowd of 17,000 spectators.

Eight horses set off for what was, on paper at least, the best renewal of this famous race for at least a decade, and after Il Est Francais had ensured a decent gallop through the first two-and-a-half miles, with scarcely the hint of a mistake from any of his rivals, all eight were still within three lengths of each other at the final turn.

The Jukebox Man then jumped the third-last fractionally ahead of Jango Baie and Gaelic Warrior – the 9-4 joint-favourites – with Djelo another half-length behind.

By the second-last, Banbridge, last year’s winner, had joined issue with the leaders as Djelo started to fade, and the four horses were all in the air together at the last. The Jukebox Man, though, had met it slightly wrong and conceded what appeared to be a crucial quarter-length before finding an immense final effort that saw him squeeze between Gaelic Warrior and Banbridge and get a flared nostril down right on the line.

The margins were the minimum of a nose and the same, with just a half-length back to Jango Baie in fourth, and while the TV cameras zeroed in on The Jukebox Man and Ben Jones as the winners, Redknapp was less convinced that he had just achieved the biggest win of his long career as an owner. He stepped away from the crowd of well-wishers near the winner’s enclosure, alone with his thoughts as he awaited the judge’s verdict, but when the announcement came – “First, number eight” – there was a huge roar of approval from every corner of the track.

“It is a dream to have a horse that good,” Redknapp said. “Just to run was a great thing for me as I was so proud of having a runner here, but to have the winner is special.

“What a race he has run. He has jumped unbelievable. I thought he was beat when they came to him and I thought he will finish fourth, but he has come again. The guts the horse has shown is just amazing.”

Redknapp has owned horses both on the Flat and over jumps since the 1980s, and knows well that it is a game where occasional triumphs will – hopefully – cancel out the many disappointments. He even warned Ben Pauling, The Jukebox Man’s trainer, that he was “an unlucky owner” before first sending him a horse about eight years ago, but they have enjoyed a near-constant run of success ever since including a first win for Redknapp’s colours at the Cheltenham festival in March 2024.

“It is right up there with my best achievements,” Redknapp said. “Football is my life, so when you are winning the FA Cup final for the fans [as he did with Portsmouth in 2008] it is an incredible feeling. We had a lot of support here today and I love the racing and the people in it, so to have a winner on the big stage is fantastic.

“Ben trained Shakem Up’Arry to win at Cheltenham, which was a dream, and then to come here today is great so Ben has done amazingly well for me. We’ve not had a bad horse, touch wood.”

The Jukebox Man went into Friday’s race as the least exposed runner in the field, making just his fourth start in a chase. Having proved himself worthy of a place against the Madrids and Barcas of the racing world, attention now turns to the sport’s showpiece meeting in March – a rough equivalent of the Euros as the elite jumping horses from Britain, Ireland and France converge on Cheltenham.

Pauling did not hesitate to point The Jukebox Man towards the Cheltenham Gold Cup, over an additional quarter-mile, and his chaser will not race again before the festival.

“What a very special day,” Pauling said. “It really is the moment where you score the winning goal with a minute to go, that was as tight as it gets.

“I think you would be daft not to go to the Gold Cup now if he comes out of it well, and what a race that will be as well.”

Collectors Item just the ticket for Welsh National

Jonjo and AJ O’Neill were forced to shut down operations at their Jackdaw’s Castle stable in early November as a virus swept through the yard but their string was showing a signs of a revival before Christmas, with four wins from 15 runners, and their eight-year-old Collectors Item has an obvious each-way chance in the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow on Saturday.

Collectors Item was one of his yard’s first runners after a three-week closure when he lined up for the Grand National Trial at Chepstow in early December, a race that has been won by the subsequent big-race winner on 27 December in three of the last four seasons.

He could not a find way past his fellow front-runner, Jubilee Express, another leading contender for Saturday’s feature race, but was running for the first time since April and has every right to come on for the outing.

Collectors Item lines up off the same mark on Saturday and while he likes to race prominently, which is generally an advantage at Chepstow, he may be able to sit just behind what promises to be a very strong pace, with Mr Vango and Jubilee Express among those setting out to make the running.

The popular Mr Vango would be a major danger to all on deeper ground, but it is officially good-to-soft at Chepstow with little or no rain in the forecast.

In any case, Collectors Item (2.55) was just a length-and-a-half behind Mr Vango in last season’s London National at Sandown and is nearly a stone better off with that rival on Saturday. He is 4lb better off with Jubilee Express, too, on their form last time and makes plenty of each-way appeal at around 12-1.

Kempton 1.20: Harry Fry’s Star Walking looked as good as ever on her return to action in November and improved to win on her second start last season.

Chepstow 1.40: Nicky Henderson’s new recruit, Manlaga, could be anything but might need to be a cut above to cope with Macktoad, bidding to give his stable a third win in this race in five years.

Kempton 1.55: Alnilam has been overlooked in the betting after being pulled up in the Henry VIII Novice Chase last time but he had no chance after a bad mistake mid-race and would be an interesting 7-1 shot if returning to his previous Cheltenham form.

Chepstow 2.10: The form of Ambion View’s second at Exeter last time was franked by the third home next time up and he can race off the same mark here.

Kempton 2.30: Thistle Ask has already chipped in three wins for Dan Skelton’s championship challenge this season and could still have scope for another after winning from out of the handicap last time.

Kempton 3.07: Having looked like an old hand on his chase debut last time, Kap Vert can shrug off an 8lb rise in the weights.

Chepstow 3.25: The way Toss Of A Coin went through the race over three miles here last month suggests this drop back in trip will not be an issue.

Kempton 3.37: Williethebuilder was no match for a handicap blot at Doncaster in December but has a better chance than odds of around 8-1 might suggest with Toby McCain-Mitchell taking off 5lb.