Former football manager Harry Redknapp targets a famous King George VI Chase victory at Kempton Park with his star chaser, The Jukebox Man.
FORMER football manager Harry Redknapp is targeting a famous victory in Friday’s King George VI Chase at Kempton Park with his star chaser, The Jukebox Man.
The 78-year-old, who guided Portsmouth to FA Cup glory in 2008, has enjoyed success as a racehorse owner but a win in this prestigious steeplechase would be his biggest.
Redknapp’s racing roots trace back to his grandmother, Maggie Brown, who ran illegal bets for a bookmaker in London.
He said his ‘nan’ would “pinch herself” at him owning such a horse, a far cry from her being “slung in the back of a police van every other day for collecting the bets”.
Redknapp’s wife, Sandra, finds his foray into ownership amusing, especially when pundits claim he never buys a bad horse.
“We’ve got a list as long as your arm so when you get a good one you’ve got to enjoy it,” Redknapp said.
The Jukebox Man already has a Grade One win at Kempton, having landed the Kauto Star Novice Chase last year.
He faces seven top-class rivals, including last year’s King George winner Banbridge and runner-up Il Est Francais.
“It’s like going into the Champions League,” Redknapp said, referencing his time managing Tottenham Hotspur in Europe.
The most formidable opposition may come from Irish trainer Willie Mullins’s duo, Gaelic Warrior and Fact to File.
Gaelic Warrior narrowly defeated his stablemate in a thrilling duel at Punchestown last month.
His owners, Rich and Susannah Ricci, are still seeking a first King George win after Vautour was edged out by Cue Card in 2015.
“In 30 seconds I saw a man who thinks he’s won a King George turn into one who finds out he hasn’t,” said the Ricci’s racing manager, Joe Chambers.
Chambers remains hopeful for this year, encouraged by positive training reports from Mullins’s stable.
