"We'll consider supplementing him" - Could Fastorslow or Spillane's Tower head to the King George?

The latest stage of declarations for the King George VI Chase passed on Tuesday and it came as a great surprise to all to see Willie Mullins remove all eight of his entrants. 

Gaelic Warrior had topped the betting, but he'll run over a shorter trip during the Christmas period as Mullins eyes up a tilt at the Champion Chase. Il Etait Temps suffered an early-season setback, so his exclusion was expected, but for Willie to remove all of his other entrants seemed like a radical step and the betting was shaken up as a result.

Fact To File and Galopin Des Champs were removed from the race following their first and third-place finishes in the John Durkan this weekend. Both remain on course for a second clash in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown, with many expecting Galopin Des Champs to turn the tables on his stablemate over a longer trip.

Jimmy Mangan's Spillane's Tower pushed Fact To File all the way to the line in the John Durkan, as the two JP McManus flag-bearers fought out a thrilling finish.

“We were delighted with both horses." Said Frank Berry, McManus' racing manager. "It was a cracking race. Both horses jumped well and finished out the race nicely, so you couldn’t be happier with them.”

When asked whether both Fact To File and Spillane's Tower would line up in the Savills Chase, Berry chose to sit on the fence, intimating that the two could be kept apart over Christmas.

Berry continued, “We’re going to sit on it for a week or 10 days, see how they come out of the race and make some decisions for around Christmas then.

“We’re not getting carried away, we’ll just see if the trainers are happy with both of them and see where we want to go.”

The King George seems like a logical step for Spillane's Tower. Mangan's stable star is at his best going right-handed, he prefers better ground and proved his stamina over three miles with a Grade One win at Punchestown back in April.

JP McManus is yet to own the winner of the King George, and you'd think this was an itch that the sport's leading owner would be keen to scratch. However, since First Gold's third failed attempt in 2003, McManus has only had one runner in the King George, suggesting that the race isn't high on his list of objectives.

Another who should be well-suited by the conditions of the King George is Fastorslow. Martin Brassil's star entered the John Durkan looking to make it four Grade One wins in a row around Punchestown, but Derek O'Connor's mount found himself a little outpaced turning for home and was forced to settle for fourth.

"He just gave his knee a bang but he was back riding out this morning and he seems fine." Brassil told the press on Tuesday. "It was a top race with top-class horses in it and I just saw today that the winning time was over five seconds faster than the course average on the day."

"It was his first run of the season and we knew he would improve for it. But, at the same time, we were favourite and we couldn't just let Galopin Des Champs go out in front. We had to track him and make sure he wasn't given too much rope. Fastorslow is just not at his best on that ground either so hopefully he can improve upon it for the rest of the season."

Many were surprised when Brassil didn't enter Fastorslow in the King George at the start of the season. With no Willie Mullins runners set to line up at Kempton, Brassil now seems keen to take his stable tour on a Christmas holiday to Britain.

The trainer continued, "If everything goes well with him over the next few weeks we'll consider supplementing him. There is also the option of running in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas as well, so we'll run in one of the two I would imagine."

"We know he's a better horse on better ground and we'll see what way the ground is at Kempton." 

Most bookmakers now have Corbetts Cross as the favourite for the 2024 King George VI Chase. bet365 lists both Fastorslow and Spillane's Tower as 6/1 shots for Kempton's Boxing Day showpiece, just half a point outside of Corbetts Cross. If either were to be supplemented, they would surely jump to the head of the market.