Paul Duffy will be pinching himself when Diamond Harry takes on the 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 the Cheltenham Gold Cup remains the ultimate objective, Duffy is excited about his 2010 Hennessy hero doing battle in the Christmas showpiece.
He would like to think Diamond Harry can get closer to four-times King George winner Kauto Star and last season's victor and Gold Cup winner Long Run than he did when fourth behind them in the Betfair Chase at Haydock last month.
His Haydock run was his first since his triumph in Newbury's prestigious handicap chase 12 months earlier.
The King George 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.
"We don't know the answer. He jumps straight enough, but he might prefer a galloping track like Haydock and Newbury. Kempton's a tighter track.
"He'd obviously like the ground to be soft. If it is, it would suit him.
"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 and let's just hope he gets around safely and does himself justice."
