Paul Duffy will be pinching himself when Diamond Harry takes on the best for the second time this season in the William Hill King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Duffy is living the dream of having a horse, that carries the colours of his Diamond Partnership, good enough to compete in the top races.

While a crack at chasing’s blue riband, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, remains the ultimate objective, Duffy is excited about his 2010 Hennessy hero battling it out in this festive showpiece.

He hopes Diamond Harry can get closer to four-times King George winner Kauto Star and last season’s victor Long Run than he did when fourth behind them in the Betfair Chase last month.

His Haydock run was his first since his triumph in Newbury’s prestigious handicap chase 12 months earlier.

Only this will be Diamond Harry’s first race on a right-handed track.

“The question is will he go right-handed round Kempton as he’s always gone left-handed before?” said Duffy.

“That’s not because we’ve avoided going the other way round. That’s the way it’s turned out.

“He jumps straight enough, but he might prefer a galloping track like Haydock. Kempton’s a tighter track.

“He’d obviously like the ground to be soft. If it is, it would suit him. The ground might be good to soft, I’d expect, but we don’t know.

“Ultimately if he gets placed behind horses like Kauto Star, Master Minded and Long Run, and if he finishes close up to them, then you’d say he’s run well.

“It’s a dream having a horse good enough to run in races like this. Anything he does is a bonus because we are still aiming at the Gold Cup.

“We still hope to go for that, but we’re taking one race at a time for our old friend and let’s just hope he gets around safely and does himself justice.” Tweet