3 minute read
Dealing with pressure is nothing new to Nico de Boinville and plenty of it will be on him once again aboard Might Bite in the 32Red King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
Since taking out a licence, the 28-year-old has been privileged to ride some of the modern-day greats, including Sprinter Sacre, Coneygree and Altior, and the Nicky Henderson-trained gelding will bid to become the next name on that list in the festive spectacular.
Having swerved an outing in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, the dual Grade One winner made a perfect return to action with a facile success in a Listed contest at Sandown last month.
De Boinville said: "I am feeling really good. He seems in good order and hopefully he will come on from his run at Sandown, so we go there with every chance. I am fairly laid-back going into it and I can't see that changing. I just take every race as it comes.
"Even though he is favourite, I couldn't care less about the betting - you just want every single horse that you ride to fulfil its potential.
"There is pressure every day for a horse to run to its maximum and it is all part of the job."
Although the eight-year-old suffered a final-fence fall in the Kauto Star Novices' Chase with the race at his mercy 12 months ago, before nearly throwing glory away in the RSA Chase when veering violently right, De Boinville feels he is a much reformed character now.
He said: "He seemed to have put everything behind him at Aintree and everything came right then. I couldn't fault him at Sandown.
"The way he was running around in the Feltham (Kauto Star) you definitely had eyes on what he could do in the King George in a year's time.
"He has got a long way to go to reach the likes of Sprinter Sacre, but he has got all the right hallmarks to reach those sort of heights. It is now just a case of fulfilling that."
On how he sees things playing out tactically in the early stages, the Gold Cup-winning rider said: "At Sandown we took a lead, so it doesn't bother me either way. He is very versatile. If there is loads of pace we can sit off the pace and if there is not, we can roll along.
"He is his own horse in his own right. He is fairly straightforward and we don't over complicate things with him."
In recent seasons the King George has served up plenty of thrilling finishes and exceptional performances and given the strength of this year's renewal, De Boinville expects more of the same.
He added: "The race looks seriously hot and has incredible depth to it. It is shaping up to be an incredible race with the likes of Bristol De Mai, who has already put up great performances this season, so I think we are in for one heck of a race.
"The way Tom Scudamore was after the race last year on Thistlecrack sums up what every jockey feels about it.
"It is one of those big races that every jockey wants to win. We want to win all the time, but the King George would definitely be right up there as one to win."
