William Hill ambassador Sam Twiston-Davies believes Clan Des Obeaux is a stronger horse as he bids to win a third Ladbrokes King George VI Chase.
The jockey stepped in for the ride on Paul Nicholls' star in 2019 with Harry Cobden preferring stablemate Cyrname and the same bookings are in place this time around.
Twiston-Davies said in his William Hill blog: "I rode him again on his first start of this season at Haydock when it was very soft ground. He jumped beautifully, travelled great and he felt like he was coming there to win the race.
"Something I’d say is that the heavy ground at Haydock suited Bristol de Mai. That race is his Kempton so I take a lot of positives out of that race for Clan.
"He has his own kind of way of jumping – you leave him to it and he is very good. He’s very economical, efficient and, at the same time, he has plenty of scope.
"I guess he’s grown up and, physically, he’s probably a little bit stronger this year hence he can deal with heavy ground better than he used to. You could say he’s more complete now.
"I went to see him in the week and I’m looking forward to Kempton. From a jockey’s point of view, it’s just about trying your best and enjoying it.
"I just hope he can do something similar to last year. That would be nice. Between now and Boxing Day it’s just a case of holding on tight, that’s the long and short of it!"