Defending champion Might Bite heads the betting to take revenge on his Gold Cup conqueror Native River in a potentially vintage King George VI Chase at Kempton on Wednesday.
Nicky Henderson’s chaser justified strong favouritism in the Boxing Day showpiece 12 months ago, before coming off second best in a thrilling clash with Native River at Cheltenham.
He clearly needed the run on his seasonal return at Haydock when finishing a tired fifth of five behind Bristol De Mai and Native River last month.
Even so it was an uninspiring showing which left Henderson searching for answers.
“He wasn’t jumping as he usually does, normally he’s just deadly but he was spending too much time in the air,” said the trainer.
“That’s not the whole story to it, maybe he wasn’t as straight as I thought he was.”
His supporters will have to take it on trust that Might Bite has put that flop behind him, with Henderson subsequently reporting his nine-year-old “fine”.
“It was a bit of a bombshell, but he’s perfectly sound and bright – and there are no injuries anyway, no reason for it behind that.”
Henderson is also wary of the threats posed to Might Bite from Politologue and Thistlecrack in particular, saying his charge will have to be better than ever before to win.
