LEADING bookmakers yesterday installed One Man an odds-on favourite to secure back-to-back victories in the Pertemps King George VI Chase.
William Hill and Ladbrokes opened their betting on Kempton's St Stephen's Day showpiece and quoted the brilliant grey at 4 to 5 and 4 to 6 respectively.
The Irish-trained Sound Man is the second favourite (4 to 1 with William Hill and 5 to Ladbrokes) with the Grand National winner Rough Quest third best at 6 to tin both lists.
One Man stormed to victory by 14 lengths in the corresponding event last season when it was staged at Sandown Park. William Hill spokesman David Hood is convinced the three-mile event is well, within One Man's scope again.
"This doesn't look a great King George. One Man has stones in hand over most of his rivals and unless the ground comes up fast it looks a formality for him, he said.
Hood's counterpart at Ladbrokes, Ian Wassell, said: "One Man looks capable of dominating the King George much as the other grey Desert Orchid did a few Christmases ago. Three miles around Kempton should be perfect for him, but it may not suit his main rivals Sound Man and Rough Quest."
The Tommy Whittle Chase, an important rehearsal for the Kempton race, was lost when Haydock Park's meeting succumbed to frost on Saturday. One Man and Rough Quest were set to tackle that event along with the other King George possibles Nahthen Lad, Kadi and Couldn't Be Better.
One Man's trainer Gordon Richards was not too concerned that his charge had been deprived of an outing before Kempton. "It's unfortunate but there's nothing we can do. It would have been a nice little win for him," he said.
"The King George is only 11 days away now and there's no other race he could go for," he said. "But missing the race won't hold back One Man. He is pretty fit as it is and we'll be able to get more work into him at home. We might think about giving him a racecourse gallop if there is somewhere we can do it."
Haydock's loss was more of a blow to Rough Quest's trainer Terry Casey as the gelding has been off the course since his Aintree triumph in March. "I would have liked the meeting to have gone a.head as he does need a run," he said.
Rough Quest is now set to tackle the Lympne Novices' Hurdle at Folkestone tomorrow. The 10-year-old is also entered for the Cardiff National Hunt Novices Hurdle at Southwell the same day.
Casey explained: "I'd prefer to go to Folkestone as I plan to have another runner there but there is a slight chance of him being ballotted out. He's 12th on the list of horses to be eliminated. If it looked like there was going to be a mountain of runners at Folkestone then he might be switched to Southwell."
Rough Quest had arrived at Haydock Park on Friday night from his stables at Dorking in Surrey in preparation for the Tommy Whittle Chase. But Casey stressed: "The journey will have taken nothing out of him. It doesn't bother him at all, he's a great traveller.
"He also wasn't fussed by his night in the racecourse stables as he knows them well. He stayed in them when he was due to run at Aintree a few years ago and last season before the Grand National. He had a bit of fresh air at the c9urse yesterday and the whole trip should have done him plenty of good."
Nahthen Lad, the winner of the Sun Alliance Chase last season, could also appear over timber this week. He is entered in the Astbury Wren Handicap Hurdle at Bangor on Wednesday.
