Paul Nicholls, the champion jumps trainer, extended his record-breaking total of victories in the King George VI Chase to nine when Silviniaco Conti took the Grade One highlight of the Christmas programme for the second year running. No other trainer has won this race more than five times in a history that dates back to 1937. Silviniaco Conti was so quick over the fences and relentless in between that he is quoted at just 5-1 to take Nicholls into double figures in 12 months’ time.
Noel Fehily, who turned 39 on Christmas Eve, set out to make the running on Silviniaco Conti and did not need to deviate from Plan A at any stage. A minor mistake at the last fence on the back straight with just under a mile to run was the only blemish on an otherwise flawless round of jumping and, though his main rivals in the betting were jostling for position in behind him as they turned for home, not one could find the speed to close the gap.
Three more foot-perfect jumps carried Silviniaco Conti to a four-and-a-half-length victory ahead of Dynaste, with Al Ferof, a stablemate of the winner, another five lengths away in third.
Silviniaco Conti had been available at 7-2 in the morning but steady support around the country and at the track, where nearly 22,000 spectators managed to squeeze into the grandstands, forced his price down to 15-8 by the off. He is now the clear favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March at a top price of 9-2, though he will need to improve on his performance in the same race last year, when he led over the last but wandered on the hill before finishing fourth.
“I’ll have to go for 10 now to make a round number,” Nicholls said in the winner’s enclosure. “Hopefully he will come back next year.
“We’re good with these staying chasers and the setup we have suits them well. It would be nice to get to 10 one day, that would be phenomenal.”
Nicholls believes that undiagnosed gastric ulcers may have contributed to Silviniaco Conti’s weak finish in last season’s Gold Cup, while the eight-year-old has also been fitted with cheekpieces this season to help his concentration.
“He’s right up there with the best now,” the trainer said. “See More Business won two [King Georges in 1997 and 1999] and a Gold Cup. What I need to do now is get that Gold Cup on to his CV, that would be really good.
“The CGC is obviously our No1 target and I’ve got no doubts about him staying. I think I know why he didn’t perform to his best last year, there were various little things that we’ve put right and if we get him to Cheltenham in this sort of form, then he’s got a big chance.”
