From King of the Jungle to King of Kempton

Harry Redknapp knows all about sporting thrills and spills on Boxing Day, but nothing could have prepared him for the drama of Kempton Park, where The Jukebox Man stepped into the Champions League and left the former Premier League manager holding the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase trophy aloft.

It was 12 months ago the apple of Redknapp and trainer Ben Pauling’s eye announced himself as a top-level performer with victory on this very afternoon, but now was his time to prove he belonged among the elite.

Sent off at 7-1 after returning from injury in style at Haydock last month, Redknapp likened the challenge of taking on the might of Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson in the Christmas showpiece to his days in the dugout taking on some of Europe’s best.

Redknapp’ star signing was in stellar form, shrugging off his challengers in a performance that was inspired, relentless and utterly brilliant in equal measure. After an age-long wait for the judge to deliver the verdict by a nose, the former ‘King of the Jungle’ from ITV’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! was in no doubt where the moment ranked amongst his many sporting achievements.

He said: “We had got into the Premier League with this horse which was fantastic, but today we went Champions League and we were taking on the top teams, the Real Madrid, the Barcelona and we proved we can compete with them and win, it’s an amazing feeling.

“This is right up there with my best sporting achievements. Football has been my life and when you win a cup final for the fans it is an incredible feeling at a football club, but I love racing and I love the game and the people in it – to have a winner like this is just fantastic.

“To have a horse that good is unbelievable. I love the game but to come here on King George day and just run made me so proud – but to have the winner is special.

“I’m so lucky and everyone was jumping on me at the end, but I didn’t even know if I had won. Everyone else seemed so confident, but I wasn’t sure. It was a dream when they called the winner. I got a big kiss from Sandra at the end as well and she thinks I only have that horse.”

It was in 2008 that the-then Portsmouth manager Redknapp hoisted the FA Cup aloft just a short drive around the M25 from Kempton at Wembley.

That Pompey squad perhaps typified the 78-year-old’s managerial career, but after The Jukebox Man was made 7-1 by a number of firms for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the master of the transfer market appears to have worked his magic once again as his £70,000 purchase ignited more Cheltenham Festival dreams.

“What a race he has run and he’s jumped unbelievable,” said Redknapp. “When they came to him I thought he was beat and would finish fourth, but he’s come again and the guts the horse has shown is just amazing.

“Ben has been so bullish about this horse and I’m asking him about the opposition, but he’s just telling me he doesn’t care and that they all had us to beat. Ben Jones said he wants more cut and more distance, maybe we get that in March?”

He went on: “I’ve had my best days with Ben. He trained Shakem Up’arry to win for me at the Cheltenham Festival which was a dream and then to come here today. He’s been lucky for me and it’s amazing really. I don’t think we’ve had a bad horse together.”

Set against the backdrop of Kempton’s much-publicised potential closure, it was a King George which served a reminder of why the race’s place on the Boxing Day calendar is imperative for the sport.

A titanic four-way battle after the last left many describing it as the best renewal of the Grade One feature they have ever seen and on a day with no Premier League football in the afternoon, saw more than 17,000 yuletide revellers file through the turnstiles.

Simon Durrant, general manager at Kempton Park, said: “Today was a fantastic example of everything that is great about jump racing in Britain.

“I’m delighted for Harry Redknapp and all those connected with Ben Pauling’s team and The Jukebox Man and I’m also delighted for the team here at Kempton Park.

“To have more than 17,000 people through the gates, including sold-out hospitality and Premier and Paddock enclosures, is a fantastic reward for all their hard work and long days in the build-up to Christmas and on the day today.

“While there has been a lot of speculation about the future of this racecourse, our message to racegoers has always been that our focus continues to be on hosting racing here, both for next year and into the future, and tickets for next year’s Ladbrokes Christmas Festival at Kempton Park go on sale on Monday (December 29th December).”