Il Est Francais

That victory arrived on Boxing Day 2023 at Kempton Park, in a Class 1 race, which puts it among the very best events the sport has to offer. Winning at that level, on that occasion, is no small thing. The King George VI Chase at Kempton on 26 December is one of the great days in the racing calendar, and any horse who turns up and delivers there has earned the right to be taken seriously. It remains the only win of Il Est Francais's career, but it is the kind of win that casts a long shadow.

The recent form does raise questions, though. The last five runs read 1-2-6 and then two blanks, suggesting the horse has found it harder to reproduce that peak. Those final two unplaced efforts, combined with the fact that Il Est Francais has been off the track for 93 days — roughly three months — means there is genuine uncertainty heading into its next run. Horses returning from a break can go one of two ways: freshened up and ready to fire, or needing a run to blow the cobwebs off.

Tom George, who trains the horse from his yard in Slad in Gloucestershire, has sent out five winners so far this season, so the operation is ticking over. A trainer who keeps a horse off for three months before a big target tends to have a plan, and given that Il Est Francais has only ever competed at Class 1 level — the very top tier — it is clear the team has always believed this is a horse worth pointing at the best races. Whether it can recapture the form that made Boxing Day 2023 such a memorable day remains the interesting question.