From King Of The Jungle To King Of Kempton
Harry Redknapp knows all about sporting delights and spills on Boxing Day, but absolutely nothing could have prepared him for the drama of Kempton Park, where The Jukebox Man stepped into the Champions League and left the former Premier League supervisor holding the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase trophy aloft.
It was 12 months ago the apple of Redknapp and trainer Ben Pauling's eye announced himself as a top-level entertainer with success on this really afternoon, however now was his time to show he belonged among the elite.
Dispatched at 7-1 after returning from injury in style at Haydock last month, Redknapp likened the difficulty of taking on the might of Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson in the Christmas masterpiece to his days in the dugout taking on a few of Europe's finest.
Harry Redknapp is mobbed after winning the King George VI with The Jukebox Man pic.twitter.com/oELRQtlpEa
- Adam Morgan (@Adam_Morgs) December 26, 2025
Redknapp' star signing was in stellar type, shaking off his oppositions in an efficiency that was influenced, ruthless and entirely brilliant in equivalent measure. After an age-long wait for the judge to deliver the decision by a nose, the previous 'King of the Jungle' from ITV's I'm a Celeb ... Get Me Out of Here! was in no doubt where the minute ranked amongst his lots of sporting accomplishments.
He said: "We had actually got into the Premier League with this horse which was wonderful, but today we went Champions League and we were handling the top groups, the Real Madrid, the Barcelona and we proved we can contend with them and win, it's an amazing feeling.
"This is right up there with my finest sporting accomplishments. Football has been my life and when you win a cup final for the fans it is an incredible sensation at a football club, but I like racing and I enjoy the video game and individuals in it - to have a winner like this is simply wonderful.
"To have a horse that good is incredible. I enjoy the game but to come here on King George day and simply run made me so happy - however to have the winner is special.
Harry Redknapp with the King George VI Chase trophy (Steven Paston for The Jockey Club/PA)
"I'm so lucky and everybody was jumping on me at the end, however I didn't even know if I had won. Everyone else seemed so positive, but I wasn't sure. It was a dream when they called the winner. I got a huge kiss from Sandra at the end also and she thinks I only have that horse."
It was in 2008 that the-then Portsmouth manager Redknapp hoisted the FA Cup up just a brief drive around the M25 from Kempton at Wembley.
That Pompey team perhaps represented the 78-year-old's supervisory career, but after The Jukebox Man was made 7-1 by a number of companies for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the master of the transfer market appears to have actually worked his magic when again as his ₤ 70,000 purchase fired up more Cheltenham Festival dreams.
"What a race he has actually run and he's jumped incredible," stated Redknapp. "When they pertained to him I thought he was beat and would finish fourth, but he's returned and the guts the horse has revealed is simply incredible.
Harry Redknapp (centre) and group The Jukebox Man commemorate at Kempton (Steven Paston for The Jockey Club/PA)
"Ben has actually been so bullish about this horse and I'm asking him about the opposition, but he's just telling me he does not care which they all had us to beat. Ben Jones said he desires more cut and more range, possibly we get that in March?"
He went on: "I have actually had my best days with Ben. He trained Shakem Up'arry to win for me at the Cheltenham Festival which was a dream and after that to come here today. He's been lucky for me and it's incredible truly. I do not believe we have actually had a bad horse together."
Set versus the backdrop of Kempton's much-publicised potential closure, it was a King George which served a reminder of why the race's put on the Boxing Day calendar is for the sport.
A titanic four-way fight after the last left many explaining it as the very best renewal of the Grade One feature they have ever seen and on a day with no Premier League football in the afternoon, saw more than 17,000 yuletide revellers submit through the gates.
The Jukebox Man was the star of a fantastic day of racing at Kempton (Steven Paston for The Jockey Club/PA)
Simon Durrant, general manager at Kempton Park, said: "Today was a fantastic example of everything that is terrific about dive racing in Britain.
"I'm happy for Harry Redknapp and all those linked with Ben Pauling's team and The Jukebox Man and I'm likewise happy for the team here at Kempton Park.
"To have more than 17,000 people through evictions, including sold-out hospitality and Premier and Paddock enclosures, is a great benefit for all their hard work and long days in the accumulation to Christmas and on the day today.
"While there has been a great deal of speculation about the future of this racecourse, our message to racegoers has always been that our focus continues to be on hosting racing here, both for next year and into the future, and tickets for next year's Ladbrokes Christmas Festival at Kempton Park go on sale on Monday (December 29th December)."