Il Est Francais limbering up for seasonal return

The King George VI Chase remains at the forefront of Noel George’s mind, as Il Est Francais prepares to make his return later this month.

The star chaser, who George trains in conjunction with Amanda Zetterholm, lit up Boxing Day at Kempton last year, producing a phenomenal round of jumping in the hands of James Reveley to claim the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.

A return to the Sunbury venue for their Christmas highlight was immediately highlighted as a goal for 2024, and despite being well-held in his only appearance since and missing the French Gold Cup, connections have not been deterred in their thinking.

The Richard Kelvin-Hughes and Haras De Saint-Voir-owned six-year-old is pleasing his Chantilly-based training team in advance of his seasonal reappearance, which could be at Auteuil on September 28 in the Prix Richard et Robert Hennessy – a race won 12 months ago by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero’s Geskille.

The outcome of that seasonal bow will determine if British racing fans will get an early sighter of Il Est Francais on UK soil, or if he remains on the continent to complete his King George preparations.

“He’s in great shape and he’s getting fitter every day,” said George.

“He’s not far off his comeback run and we have the option of running him on September 28.

“Our main target is the King George and I think that run will tell us whether we stick to the French programme to get ready for Kempton or come over to England to get ready with a race before.

“The horse will tell us what to do, but he’s in great form and we’re looking forward to getting him back on track. It’s all very exciting and we will see how his comeback race goes then make a plan from there.”

He went on: “We’ve got a few other nice horses to potentially bring over to the UK throughout the winter as well, but obviously we are all looking forward to the King George with Il Est Francais.”

Il Est Francais is currently disputing King George favouritism with Willie Mullins’ exciting Cheltenham Festival-winning Fact To File.