Boxing Day ITV Racing Tips: Mark Milligan with three to back at Kempton and Wetherby

• Henderson novice to kick the day off in style

• Willie Mullins can take the Kauto Star back to Ireland

• No Konfusion where the day's best bet is concerned

• Read all about Betfair's Boxing Day free bet offer here

12:45, Kempton - Back Noble Park @ 7/42.75

Boxing Day showcases the very best of National Hunt racing across the country and nowhere is that more apparent than at Kempton, a track that has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently.

What the long-term fate is for the Sunbury venue remains to be seen but it will be a massive blow to the sport if the course's future isn't secured and without doubt the thousands in attendance for the King George meeting would agree.

Let's hope there are brighter days ahead and that the course can continue to stage the fantastic racing we've become accustomed to every Christmas.

The ITV action kicks off with a novices' limited handicap chase that can go to the highly promising Noble Park.

Nicky Henderson's six-year-old was a fair hurdler, but has already proven better over the bigger obstacles and he made a winning chase debut at Hereford last month before absolutely bolting up at Lingfield on his most recent start.

He took a big step forward in form terms from that first run over fences to the second, and there's the prospect of plenty more to come from one who could still prove very leniently handicapped off a mark of 125.

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13:20, Kempton - Back Kitzbuhel @ 2/13.00

The Grade 1 Kauto Star Novices' Chase looks a cracker and it's possible to make a cases for for all of the six that head to post.

However, the trio that look most interesting are Kitzbuhel, Salver and Wendigo.

Salver did this column a good turn when winning the Grade Betfair Esher Chase at Sandown last month, but his jumping was a little sticky at times and there is also the suspicion that the race may have fallen apart to a degree around him. He'll need more here, but that experience won't be lost on him.

Jamie Snowden's Wendigo found only one too good on his chase debut at Worcester in October and improved markedly for that when taking the Grade 2 John Francome at Newbury last time. There was plenty to like about how got the job done that day and he's opne to plenty more progression.

However, both Salver and Wendigo will have to go some to lower the colours of Kitzbuhel, who looks another top-class chaser in the making from the Willie Mullins production line.

A smart hurdler, he looks like he'll make an even better chaser and the form of his debut win over fences has already been franked by the third bolting up next time.

There's a school of thought that suggests Kitzbuhel didn't stay 3m on his sole attempt over hurdles but I'm not going to readily subscribe to that theory and Kempton tends to place the emphasis more on speed than stamina in any case.

He didn't shape like one who'd be inconvenienced by stepping back up in trip having won over shorter last time and a repeat of the fluent round jumping he put in there will stand him in good stead around here.

13:35, Wetherby - Konfusion @ 5/42.25

Away from Kempton, this selection won't win any prizes for originality, but the progressive young chaser Konfusion looks one of the best bets of the day.

Joel Parkinson & Sue Smith have got their horses in flying form at the moment and they took a big staying handicap over the weekend at Haydock with Grand Geste. That one was an unexposed young chaser and, while Konfusion has had more experience over fences than that one, he's still in a very similar mould, with his only real blip coming when unseating at Haydock last month.

He quickly put that behind him when dotting up by 15 lengths in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle last time, jumping assuredly and winning impressively.

The selection is also unbeaten on both previous visits Wetherby, which is a bonus with this race in mind, and it's one that looked an obvious target from the moment he passed the post up at Gosforth Park.

Now read Katie Midwinter's runner-by-runner guide to the King George VI Chase at Kempton