Tingle Creek: Henderson hoping Jonbon will emulate Kauto Star
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Thu 5 Dec 2024
By Graham Clark
Nicky Henderson believes Jonbon deserves the kind of “high star status” enjoyed by some of his other legendary two milers, as he bids to become the first horse since the mighty Kauto Star back in 2005 and 2006 to win successive renewals of the £175,000 Betfair Tingle Creek Chase this Saturday (December 7th) at Sandown Park.
The JP McManus-owned eight-year-old already has seven Grade One wins under his belt and his trainer has no hesitation in comparing him to Seven Barrows superstars of yesteryear.
Henderson has been privileged to train some of the best two-milers around from the likes of Remittance Man and Travado to, in more recent years, Sprinter Sacre and Altior.
Watch a full replay of Jonbon's victory in last year's Betfair Tingle Creek
But he said: “I think you have to give him pretty high star status as he certainly compares with all the others. To be fair any horse that has won the amount of Grade Ones that he has done has to be pretty good.
“They have all been completely different. Sprinter was unique as he was just a big, beautiful, mighty horse and Altior was great.
“He matches up with all the other lads. He is a solid person and a great character.”
Jonbon will take on seven rivals during the defence of his crown and arrives on the back of a second successive victory in the Grade Two Shloer Chase at Cheltenham last month, where finishing in behind him were the re-opposing Edwardstone, Boothill and Unexpected Party.
However, despite being an odds-on chance with the race sponsor to successfully retain his Tingle Creek title, his team at home are taking nothing for granted.
Henderson, who is seeking a fourth win in the race, having also won it with Sprinter Sacre in 2012 and Altior in 2018, said: “We are very happy with Jonbon. Paddy (Murphy) who rides him every day tells me he is very happy, but he is an eternal optimist so I hope he is right!
“The whole idea of the Shloer is that it is a nice stepping stone, and although it comes quite close to the Tingle Creek, it brought him on really well last year, and I’d be disappointed if it hasn’t brought him on again this year.
“Edwardstone was there with us in the Shloer and I expect Alan King thinks, and hopes, he will have come on for that race, and the second Boothill as well, as they were all making their seasonal debuts, but we would hope we can confirm the placings.
“They are all entitled to come on for the Shloer run, but so is Jonbon and I think we are in a good place with him.
“I gather there is plenty of rain to come so we have got to be prepared for soft ground, but I think he is pretty versatile as far as ground is concerned. Like any top-class horse, he can handle most things.
“We are now in a crucial part of the year where you need to be winning these sorts of races.
"It is nice if you have horses, like Jonbon, that can at least go in there with a good shout, but as always it is going to be competitive.
“We know that he quite likes Sandown as he has already won a Tingle Creek so let’s try and bag another one.”
Jonbon with connections after winning last year’s Tingle Creek (Steven Paston/The Jockey Club)
While Jonbon has upwards of 7lbs in hand on official ratings over his rivals Henderson feels that his ability to handle the unique nature of the chase track at Sandown Park, where he is undefeated in four starts, helps bolster his chances of Grade One win number eight.
Henderson said: “He does seem to like Sandown and the track seems to suit him well.
“He seems to get into a good rhythm around there, which some horses don’t find as easy as he possibly does.
“It is a real test as those fences come up in all shapes and sizes and sometimes very quickly, which he seems to enjoy.
“It would be good if he can win this twice as this is one of the first big Grade One tests on the calendar and it is a historic race in memory of what was a great horse, Tingle Creek, who I remember well.”
Nicky Henderson with Constitution Hill (David Davies/PA)
Routine is very much key to keeping Jonbon happy according to Henderson, who believes that is the way to get the best out of the multiple Grade One winner.
Henderson added: “The away day at Newbury he had before the Shloer is important, not for the fact that it is a gallop, but that gives him a day away.
“When he went away to Newbury that day he sweated a lot and you just have to take it gently with him.
“Going to Newbury like that just gets it all out of his system and we have done it every year. Mentally it helps him.
“He is a bit of a worrier as he can get a bit sweaty. He just loves his routine and a system. If you break the routine he will get flustered. Keeping it simple is key to him.”
Last season saw Jonbon step up to two and a half miles for the first time under rules when winning the Grade One My Pension Expert Melling Chase up at Aintree.
However, Henderson will be sticking to the two-mile path with Jonbon for the season in the hope he can add a victory in the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival to his name which is so far missing from Walk In The Park gelding’s CV.
Henderson added: “He was supposed to go to Cheltenham for the Queen Mother in March, but as you know we weren’t happy with the horses on the whole at that time, and we had to just pass the meeting by.
“We then wanted to go to Aintree, where there isn’t a two-mile race, but a very good two-and-a-half-mile race.
“Two and a half miles around Aintree is a different ball game to two miles around Cheltenham as one is a very easy track, and one is a very stiff one.
“However, he was always going to come back to two miles for the Celebration Chase after that.
“It would have been very interesting to have tried three miles, and if you were ever going to do it, I suppose the obvious thing would have been to look at the King George, but if you do that you then take him out of the Tingle Creek.
“He hasn’t won a Champion Chase, and that would be nice, but you just take things one race at a time.”
Nicky Henderson has provided an update on Constitution Hill, who was forced to miss his eagerly-awaited return to action in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle, after being found to be lame following a public workout at Newbury.
“We are just working away on Constitution Hill. He will be working away this weekend and we have then got another couple of weeks until the Christmas Hurdle (Kempton Park, Boxing Day),” he said.
“Hopefully everything is on schedule. It is just routine work he will be doing at the weekend.”