VENETIA Williams' storming season continued with a 'heroic' third in the prestigious £260,000 King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day – second in stature to only the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

That follows a run of success across the country for the Wye Valley trainer, including a second successive win in the £100,000 Howden Silver Cup at Ascot the previous weekend for Victtorino.

Victtorino raced to the Howden Silver Cup at Ascot for the second year running
Victtorino raced to the Howden Silver Cup at Ascot for the second year running (Venetia Williams Racing)

The three-mile Kempton showcase was a first appearance for 14-1 shot L'Homme Presse since fourth in the Gold Cup nine months ago.

And the King's Caple-trained mount of Charlie Deutsch impressed to chase home 7/1 Irish winner Banbridge, who caught 9/2 out-and-out frontrunner Il Est Francais in the closing stages to win by 1 3/4L, with L'Homme Presse heading the chasing pack by a margin for a £27,000 pay day.

Williams said: “I have to be thrilled with him as he was the first British horse home, and by a good margin.

"There was no hiding place in a race like that. You have to give Il Est Francais credit for going a monumental gallop and jumping fantastically and Banbridge, who beat him up the run in.

“Our horse galloped all the way to the line. It wasn’t really his ground, but you have to be really thrilled with him.

"I think it was a very strong running of the race and you have to be delighted. He is a very good horse and he has confirmed it today, as he has in the past.

“This is the championship race of the first half of the season and I have to be proud of the fact he was the first British horse home. Hopefully he will come home in one piece from that and we can then think about where we go next.”

She later posted a photo of the horse, saying: "A heroic performance on his seasonal debut from L’Homme Presse to finish third in a blistering King George."

Stablemate Royale Pagaille, sixth in the 2023 Gold Cup, missed out on racing due to a "minor issue" though, and will now target the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock in three weeks’ time.

Williams' Fontaine Collonges also raced in the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow in thick fog the following day, but the horse was one of several to be pulled up.

Meanwhile, victory for Venetia’s Victtorino under Deutsch at Ascot six days earlier followed yard wins for Royale Pagaille in the £206,000 Betfair Chase at Haydock, Frero Banbou in the £70,000 Rehearsal Premier Chase at Newcastle, Djelo in the £80,000 Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon and Gemirande in the £125,000 Nyetimber December Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

Deutsch rode the perfect race on Victtorino by settling the 11/2 six-year-old at the back of the field before steadily producing a challenge approaching the last.

On the run in, it was a straight fight to the winning post between The Changing Man and Deutsch’s mount, who got up to win the 2-mile 7-furlong test by 1/2L.

The Famous Five storms to victory at Newbury
The Famous Five storms to victory at Newbury (Newbury Racecourse)

And there were more celebrations on the last Saturday of 2024 at Newbury, as he rode Williams’ 2-1 favourite The Famous Five to a short head victory over The Good Doctor in the £21,000 Coral ‘We’re Here For It’ handicap steeple chase.