Racing: Brian O'Connor talks to trainer Tom Taaffe about his stable star Kicking King.

The usual Christmas festivities mean little to busy racing folk anyway but Tom Taaffe's holiday focus will be spread thinner than most ahead of Kicking King's attempt on the King George VI Chase.

Ireland's ante-post favourite for the St Stephen's Day Kempton showpiece will be at the London track from Christmas Eve and, despite the cross-channel tension, Taaffe would have it no other way.

"At the end of the day we're in the entertainment business and we're heading to one of the biggest shows around," the Straffan-based trainer said yesterday.

"The way I look at it, trainers, jockeys and staff are working up to January anyway. It's part of the job. And the whole thing is that we're all trying to have runners around this time of year. That's the aim," he added.

So with pudding, cake and rampant indigestion put in their proper box, Taaffe is focusing on moulding his stable star's chance at becoming just the second Irish- trained King George winner since Captain Christy put in brilliant back to back performances in 1974-'75.

Just the mention of that superbly gifted chaser also brings a certain symmetry to the challenge. Captain Christy was trained by Taaffe's father, Pat, who in his riding days also managed to secure some King George glory with Arkle.

The down-side is that the same race also saw the greatest of them all pick up the injury that ended his career.

"What happened to Arkle could have happened anywhere.

"In fact it was best to happen on the racecourse where there were facilities to cope. No the King George has nothing but happy memories for us," Taaffe said yesterday.

The 41-year-old former Irish National winning jockey also has more pressing concerns to worry about with a cold snap forecast for the Christmas period. Not that that is disrupting Taaffe's impressive sang-froid.

"It was minus four the other day at Kempton and they could have raced. I'm keeping in touch with them over there and they tell me there isn't a problem," he said. "There is a contingency plan anyway that they will run the following day if they have to."

His calm is helped by complete confidence in the still burgeoning ability of the horse he has developed since a yearling.

A Durkan Chase victory earlier in the month took away the tang of Down Royal defeat in November when Kicking King's desire to get on with the job may have been a greater reason for losing than Beef Or Salmon. That free-wheeling display of steeplechasing brio at Punchestown also brought a cheque-book bearing suitor.

"We had one English offer but he was politely told to have a nice day," grinned Taaffe, who believes the best of Kicking King has yet to be seen.

"He's only six, going on seven, so he shouldn't be at his peak for another couple of years," he said. "Since he was a three-year-old we've thought he was smart and since then he's done all the talking that's needed to be done."

He is also the sort of horse that can make a training career. Taaffe has held a licence for nine years, almost since he stopped riding in 1994.

That earlier career never resulted in an appearance at Kempton but he is confident that both the track and the three-mile trip will be ideal for his horse.

"Three miles is not a worry. He ran over three on very heavy ground at the Maze when he ran too free but he still got home. With hindsight we probably would have been wiser to have let him go on earlier. The quicker they go at Kempton the bigger the advantage will be to us," he predicted.

The likes of Le Roi Miguel, Calling Brave and Kingscliff represent a strong home defence but with Best Mate engaged elsewhere there is nothing in this year's King George that will put the frighteners on Irish hopes that Kicking King can follow up Florida Pearl's success three years ago.

That would make some Christmas present for his trainer.