Although growing up in touching distance of Prestbury Park, Noel George will be attempting to land a blow for France when Milan Tino becomes the first horse he will saddle at the Cheltenham Festival.

His father Tom George has sent out both Galileo (Royal & SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle, 2002) and Summerville Boy (Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, 2018) to strike at the showpiece meeting from the Slad training base where George Jr learnt the ropes.

However, the younger George has swapped the Cotswolds for Chantilly, where alongside Amanda Zetterholm he has formed a formidable Anglo-Swedish training partnership that is taking French racing by storm.

It is the exploits of superstar chaser Il Est Francais that first alerted a British audience to George and Zetterholm’s training talents, but the JP McManus-owned juvenile Milan Tino is the source of the duo’s Cheltenham dreams as he prepares for a shot at the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle on the opening day of Festival action.

George said: “He did his last piece of work on Tuesday and worked very nicely. He is heading over on Sunday and we’ve got our fingers crossed for a good run.

“It’s our first Cheltenham Festival runner and it’s a real dream. The fact we are coming over from France with one with a live chance is really exciting.”

Milan Tino is no stranger to Cheltenham having visited twice already this season, each time finishing third and only having Triumph Hurdle favourite Sir Gino and the highly-talented Burdett Road ahead of him in his most recent trip to Prestbury Park on Festival Trials day.

He has also finished in the money in competitive juvenile heats at Auteuil and George is hoping the handicapper has given the four-year-old a real chance of what can be classed as a rare Festival success for France.

“To start with he was off 136 because of his French form and the handicapper seems to think off his English runs he is now 126, so I hope we have a few pounds in hand I guess,” continued George, with Milan Tino a best price of 8-1 at Cheltenham.

“Sir Gino I knew before from when he ran in the Prix Wild Monarch and he has always been a bit special and Burdett Road is also obviously a very good ex-Flat horse, so we go there with a live chance and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Noel George has reaffirmed the intention to skip this season’s Cheltenham Festival with the very exciting Il Est Francais.

George trains in partnership with Amanda Zetterholm in France and their stable star waltzed away with the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Highly regarded types like Hermes Allen and Giovinco were left trailing in his wake as he made every yard of the running under James Reveley, but connections are to stick to their plan of aiming at the French Gold Cup, the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, this spring rather than Cheltenham.

“He doesn’t have to front run, he’s very easy, he can sit in behind and pass horses but that’s just the speed he’s comfortable at going and the others aren’t comfortable. He’s just a dream horse and I think the sky is the limit with him,” George told Sky Sports Racing.

“He’s potentially the best chaser in the whole of France. He hasn’t stepped up in grade yet but we knew that he was very good.

“We thought about coming to Kempton a year ago and the horse had never even run over fences, but I think it was the right decision to wait and he’s shown everyone how good he is.

“It’s great for everyone involved to show that the top level in France is able to compete with the best level in England.

“The horse came back into training in July, ran in September and was near enough 100 per cent for the whole autumn. If we kept him in training to aim at Cheltenham and then get him back at 100 per cent for the French Gold Cup in May, that’s nearly a whole year having him in full training which I don’t think is the right thing to do.”

He went on: “We still need to discuss it but for me, I’d like to give him a break to make sure he is 100 per cent for a French Gold Cup.

“We’ve got loads of time with this horse, he’s only just turning six and for me, his next real target in England is the King George so there’s no rush, the sky is the limit.

“(Co-owners) Richard Kelvin-Hughes’ dream is to win a Cheltenham Gold Cup and Nicolas Lageneste’s dream is to win a French Gold Cup – if we can achieve both everyone would be very happy.”

Il Est Francais will bid for a milestone success for Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm in the Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

The five-year-old is trained in France by the young team and has been a true success story since joining the stable, running seven times at Auteuil and winning on all but one occasion.

Those victories include two Grade Threes and a Grade One, and most recently the gelding stepped up in trip to ease any doubts over his stamina when landing the Listed Prix Fondeur in heavy ground.

He now crosses the Channel to test his mettle against British-trained horses at Kempton, and George is hopeful he can make a mark.

“He’s got a very big reputation out here in France and we’re all just hoping he can show us a true running of his real ability,” the trainer said.

“It’s the first time he has travelled away from Auteuil obviously, but he is a horse who seems to adapt easily, so hopefully it won’t be a problem and he can show us how good he is.

“France Galop have been great and have accommodated us building British fences and they opened the grass gallop especially for us so he could do a grass gallop. He’s in great form and his prep has been perfect really and we can’t wait for it.

“It’s a bit of a dream and you grow up watching King George day at Kempton. I know it’s not the King George but it’s a Grade One on the same day and it would be a dream for myself and Amanda to win our first Grade One and if that was in England, then it would be amazing.”

Il Est Francais will face Paul Nicholls’ Hermes Allen in the contest, a Grade One-winning hurdler who made a perfect start to his chasing career when landing the John Francome Novices’ Chase by six and a half lengths on debut at Newbury at the start of the month.

He beat decent horses during that run and although this is a step up in class and distance, he does have three-mile point-to-point form on his side to answer the latter question.

“Hermes Allen hasn’t gone three miles yet under rules, but he has won his point-to-point over that distance and I’ve no issue with the trip at all,” Nicholls said.

“It will be exciting and he wants to be running in Grade Ones, as it was this time last year that he won the Challow Hurdle. He won well the other day having needed the run.

“I was delighted with him at Newbury and he couldn’t have done it any better. He jumped well and galloped well all the way to the line and he will improve for that run.”

Lucinda Russell will saddle Giovinco for the race, a six-year-old who made an impression on his last run when defeating the well-regarded Stay Away Fay in the Esher Novices’ Chase at Sandown.

The gelding is a previous Listed winner over hurdles and has point-to-point form, but connections are mindful of the depth of the race this year.

Peter Scudamore, Russell’s partner and assistant, said: “It looks a very tough race but he’s highly rated and there’s not many places we can go.

“It looks a particularly good renewal of the race so we go in hope rather than expectation, but obviously we hope he runs a really nice race.

“He ran a good race at Sandown and he has a chance of improving a bit from there, so we go in hope.”

David Killahena and Graeme McPherson will saddle the grey Marble Sands for the race, with Emma Lavelle set to run Tightenourbelts and Anthony Honeyball represented by Kilbeg King.

Trainer Noel George described Ile Est Francais as “the best horse I’ve had anything to do with” ahead of his planned British debut in the Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

A Grade One-winning hurdler last year when officially trained by George’s British-based father, Tom, the five-year-old has made a fine start to his career over fences with successive victories at Auteuil.

As Ile Est Francais carries the familiar colours of part-owner Richard Kelvin-Hughes, George and his training partner Amanda Zetterholm are keen to test his powers on UK soil, and he is now being readied for a festive trip across the Channel.

“Because he’s owned by Richard Kelvin-Hughes, who has half of him, we are obviously going to want to compete in the UK at some stage,” said George.

“I thought it would be best for him to run over English-style fences early on his career so he’s learnt before he has too much of a tendency to jump like a real French chaser.

“I think the track at Kempton will suit him very well and he’s obviously still a novice, so hopefully it should be a nice opportunity.”

With Ile Est Francais having been campaigned almost exclusively at Auteuil so far, he will have a number different questions answer at Kempton, where James Reveley will ride.

George, though, is unconcerned about a step up to three miles, the possibility of better ground or travelling abroad, while he will also have the opportunity to school over English-style fences before the big day.

He added: “The ground was very soft last time and Kempton never gets very, very soft. He’s got a very high cruising speed and a slick jumping style, which I think will definitely suit the track and I don’t think the trip should be an issue at all.

“France Galop built us three made to measure English fences on the grass and he’s going to school over them next week. There’s two plain fences and a ditch, so he’ll have seen them all. I would have been happy going without doing it, but he’ll be going there having seen it.

“He’s very straightforward and he’s travelled a lot to go away for grass gallops. There’s always a little bit of a question mark about the travelling, but he’s very professional and has got got a companion going with him, so he should be very settled and I don’t think it should be an issue.

“I think we’ve chosen the closest track to the Channel tunnel, so he doesn’t have to go too far!”

Having seen his father saddle numerous big-race winners over the years, George admits it would be a special achievement if he can secure Grade One success of his own on home turf.

“It would be a complete dream. His main target this year is the French Gold Cup in May, but this is very much a prestigious race on Boxing Day at Kempton – one of the biggest days of the year,” said George, speaking on a Jockey Club press call on Wednesday.

“We had to discuss it between us because you have to bear in mind there are two different owners’ opinions. We want him to win on the big stage for both of the owners and I think, hopefully, he’s capable of doing it.

“I talk to dad every day and he gives me lots of advice. He worked for Francois Doumen when The Fellow and horses like that were coming over, so he was saying how he thought we should approach coming over to the UK. I think we’re doing it at the right time for the horse.”

The George-Zetterholm partnership has already saddled a couple of runners in Britain this season without success, but it is clear expectations are significantly higher for their latest challenger.

George said: “He’s the best horse I’ve had anything to do with – he’s unbelievable.

“He’s very much going there with a French flag. Even though we’re not French, he’s trained in France and he’s a French horse.

“When we’ve got the level of horse that we think can compete on the big stage we’ll definitely bring them over to the UK.

“We’ve had a couple of runners already, but this is our first proper big gun coming over, flying the flag. He’s our best horse, so fingers crossed he can show us what he’s made of.”