The Jukebox Man rules in King George for Harry Redknapp

The Jukebox Man, carrying the colours of former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp, came out on top in an epic renewal of the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton Park.

A quality field of eight assembled for the Boxing Day highlight, with the Willie Mullins-trained pair of Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File joined at the head of the betting by Nicky Henderson’s recent Ascot winner Jango Baie.

After tracking the pacesetting Il Est Francais for much of the three-mile journey, Ben Pauling’s The Jukebox Man (7-1) moved to the lead before the final bend under Ben Jones, but the runners were tightly grouped as they straightened up for home.

There were still four in with a chance jumping the final fence, with The Jukebox Man, Gaelic Warrior, Jango Baie and last year’s winner Banbridge right there, but after a stirring battle and tense wait it was The Jukebox Man who was called a nose in front of the Joseph O’Brien-trained Banbridge.

A proud Redknapp – who saw The Jukebox Man win on this card 12 months ago – said: “That’s a dream and to have a horse that good is unbelievable. I love the game, to come here on King George day and just run made me so proud, but to have the winner is special.

“What a race he has run and he jumped unbelievable. When they came to him I thought he was beat and would finish fourth, but he’s come again and the guts the horse has shown is just amazing.”

Pauling, meanwhile, said of the incredible finish: “It really is the moment where you score the winning goal in the cup final with a minute to go. It’s as tight as it gets and I had no idea how we got on. The cameras thought he won, but I didn’t want to believe it until I heard that tannoy.

“It’s something very special and Harry has been an exceptional owner for me and we’ve always had a huge amount of luck. I’ve always had huge faith in this horse and so has Harry as well.

“We’ve won Festival races and we’ve won Grade Ones, but this is the best we’ve achieved to date, this is a pretty good Christmas present.

“I said to Ben going out ‘don’t hate me, but I want you to be as brave as you can be’. Ben got it perfect and went from fence to fence. The only one he got in tight to was the last, to get back up again was incredible as no one was stopping. He’s a character with a big engine and a big heart.

“It’s very exciting for the future. You would be daft not to go to the Gold Cup now and what a race that will be.”

While Pauling has tasted Grade One glory before, this victory represents the highlight of his career so far.

He added: “It’ll take me a few days I think for this to sink in especially after the hangover, but these are the days we want to be a part of.

“It’s our first proper runner in one of these elite chases and to compete would have been great but to win it is amazing.

“From Haydock (comeback after injury sidelined him after Kempton last year) to here has been foot-perfect. He’s not going to be seen again now until Cheltenham, so if I can do the same again, then fingers crossed it will be exciting.”

Jones was in no doubt about the magnitude of the win, rating it the highlight of his riding days to date.

He said: “I thought I’d won a head, but the girls came over and they weren’t sure. I didn’t want to celebrate in case I looked silly and I guess I can retire happy now.

“It’s right up there as the biggest day as my career and it’s got to be the most fun I’ve had out there on the racecourse. The big wins always seem to come in these colours which I don’t mind and it’s brilliant.

“Someone said to me ‘your name is going to be on the list alongside all the other jockeys that have won it’ and to go on there among some of the greats means an awful lot.”