Cheltenham reports and replays: L’Eau Du Sud sinks Jonbon

Dan Skelton’s L’Eau Du Sud turned the Shloer Chase into a procession when running out a wide-margin winner over the hat-trick-seeking Jonbon at Cheltenham.

Run in howling wind and rain, there was nowhere to hide, as Matata, Jonbon and the eventual winner never gave each other any peace.

That might have been setting it up for one to come from behind, but Libberty Hunter was an early faller and Edwardstone never looked like getting involved.

Harry Skelton on the eventual 100-30 winner was keen there was to be no let up and cruised upsides as if to prove how well he was going, and a few slow leaps soon meant Jonbon was on the back foot.

Coming down the hill Skelton allowed himself a long look over his shoulder but in the gathering gloom he was so far clear of Jonbon he may not have seen him.

L’Eau Du Sud breezed on by Matata turning in and was allowed to coast home in his own time. JJ Slevin worked wonders to stay on Matata after a bad mistake at the last, but it cost him second, allowing Jonbon to maintain his record of never finishing outside the first two but 15 lengths adrift.

Dan Skelton said: “Maybe the conditions have made him look really good today, but we got him ready for today as we needed to know where he stands. Whether he got beat by Jonbon or not we were hopeful today was a career best, and it was.

“I was hoping we could take the step forward, but you can never be sure. Looking at today he’s clearly improved

“I’m not very proud of myself for running at Warwick in the Kingmaker before the Arkle as it took a lot out of him and that’s why he wasn’t at his best at Cheltenham. I didn’t want to say it at the time as it would have sounded like an excuse, but that’s in the past and hopefully we can make it up now.

“I’m not afraid of running novices and they have to go out and run to learn what to do. Maybe those defeats in the spring have helped turn him into the man he has become today and of course there are positives to it all.

“We’ll look forward to the future now with a real good two-miler now. He’ll go straight to the Tingle Creek and maybe after last year straight to the Champion Chase. I wouldn’t leave the door completely shut on the Clarence House at Ascot, but he’s had a harder race than it looked today because that ground is pretty hard work.”

He added: “It was probably hard to foresee that and I thought we could win but we needed an under-performance from Jonbon and I think that’s what we saw, he didn’t travel like him. He’s not getting any younger and I think you’ll see a different Jonbon at Sandown now he’s blown the cobwebs away.

“Last year he had two runs before he went to Sandown and this year he will only have one but let’s see.”

On a day when Storm Claudia attempted to dampen spirits, No Drama This End emerged from the gloom to brighten Paul Nicholls’ mood after a mixed start to the season.

Nicholls has been forced to rule his best horse Caldwell Potter out for the season and has already had to rejig plans for Kalif Du Berlais following his lacklustre return.

Last seen in the Champion Bumper finishing behind the reopposing Heads Up, who ran above expectations to be second in March, on this occasion Harry Cobden’s biggest worry was when to take up the running.

He waited until after the last and cruised home to win by three lengths from the John McConnell-trained Heads Up, the 7-4 favourite.

Nicholls said of his 5-1 winner: “He’s a real one without a shadow of a doubt. We thought he was, but until they go out and do it on the track you don’t know.

“He has shown us plenty at home and did a beautiful gallop at Newbury the other day. Nico de Boinville rode him that day and was smiling afterwards, he said he loved him.

“We think a lot of him, we’ve given him plenty of time and we’ll give him plenty of time, but there’s no doubt he’s a proper one.

“We need horses like this and he’ll go straight to the Challow (at Newbury) now. He’s a proper big chasing horse who we will look after and will go chasing next year.

“We’ve a lot to look forward to with him and he’s always had something special about him all along – we just needed to see it on track which we did today.

“Running in the Champion Bumper didn’t do him any harm and he’d be right up there with all the horses I’ve won the Challow with in the past.”

Sean Bowen demonstrated why he is a champion jockey with an amazing effort aboard Wade Out (9-4) to claim the Listed Sun's "Save Our Bets" Novices' Chase at Cheltenham today, Countryside Day at The November Meeting.

Racing in the famous yellow silks of the Hales family, the six-year-old was struggling for the majority of the three miles and a furlong contest and didn’t jump with any real fluency but was galvanized by the 28-year-old to challenge at the last before going to defeat One Big Bang (9-2) by three and a quarter lengths.

Bowen, who was riding his 133rd victory of the campaign, said: “He’s lazy, but to be fair he kept finding and that’s what you need over these trips.

“I only think he jumped the way he did because he wasn’t going forward. He was going nowhere and that’s why he was getting under fences.

“I am riding on a high at the minute. I am riding for good people who let me do what I think is best, which makes a big difference.”

Successful trainer Olly Murphy added: “I just said to Sean I’m some trainer, aren’t I!

“He got a very, very good ride off Sean – he is under no instructions, he rides my horses like they are his own. He gives them loads of confidence and gives them a chance through the middle part of the race. He’s under no pressure and horses can come home for you when they are not under pressure halfway through a race.

“I said in an interview the other day, for Sean to be mentioned in the same breath as AP (McCoy) is a credit to him and his work ethic is second to none. I just love working with him – we have a great relationship and hopefully we are both on the up and I’ll have better horses for him to ride on these bigger stages.

“I think it will just be one run and then the National Hunt Chase (at The Festival) for this horse. He’s lethargic but can jump and he can do it.

“I’m so sad (the late) John Hales is not here. He was very, very good to me when I started training. It’s fantastic that Pat (wife) and Lisa (daughter) are here. John was an Aston Villa fan like myself, and hopefully he’s looking down on us today.”

Eldorado Allen (13-2) continued his excellent record when fresh when making all to land the Unibet Middle Distance Veterans' Chase Series Veterans' Handicap Chase (Qualifier). The 11-year-old grey jumped superbly throughout and never looked in danger of getting beat as he came home four and a half lengths clear of Mister Coffey.

Brendan Powell, the winning rider, said: “I got a big kick out of that. He’s a horse that I have ridden a lot and had some good days on him in the Denman and the Haldon Gold Cup.

“It’s great that they have these sorts of races for the older boys. He absolutely loved it. Gemma rides him out every day at home and knows him inside out.

“He loves his racing and loves his work. It’s great for the horse to get a well-deserved win again. From a jockey’s point of view, you know when you ride this lad you know you can go out and have a bit of fun.

“It was a great result, and Joe’s horses are running really well at the moment – long may it last.”

Trainer Joe Tizzard added: “That was lovely. He goes very well fresh. We were going to take him to Wincanton. When we lost that meeting, we said we’ll come here. He loves it around here and loves being fresh.

“It was a real pleasure to watch, and he jumped like a stag.

“We’ve had him since he was a four-year-old and his longevity is amazing. He is the first horse you see when you come in the yard – he’s in Cue Card’s old box and his head is over the door all day.

“It’s special and John (Romans) and Terry (Warner, owners) are big supporters of the yard over the years and still are. We’ll enjoy this one.”

The opening Lycetts Insurance Brokers Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle over two miles and five furlongs went to A Pai De Nom (11-2), who made it two wins from three starts over hurdles with a length victory over Lucky Manifest (10-1).

Successful trainer Dan Skelton said: “He’s done really well, and Tristan gave him a great ride. He made up a bit of ground down the back straight and it always felt it was going to be hard to try and get into it turning in with conditions the way they are.

“He had some really good form last year – he was behind a really good bumper horse at Chepstow and then lost his way. We needed to do his wind, but he has made a brilliant start to his career and hopefully he can be a good horse.

“The owners Margaret and Myrteel have come over (from USA) for Laura my dad’s partner’s birthday, so it couldn’t have worked out better – I said we’ll have a runner at Cheltenham and hopefully it’ll be a lovely day! It turned out like this, but we don’t care if we win.

“He’s called A Pai De Nom which means I’ve got no name because for so long we called him the horse with no name. He kind of slipped under the radar for a lot of his life but he isn’t now.”

Successful jockey Tristan Durrell, riding his second winner at the Home of Jump Racing said: “It was a big step up for him to come into an 18-runner handicap round here. They went a good old gallop. He’s was a bit novicey over the first couple but then he really took me into it and I was actually there too soon at the last, but he was good.

“With him being a novice and only with two runs over hurdles, I wanted to keep him out a bit wider, keep him happy and give him a nice run.

“It’s soft, but it’s nice to be on some soft ground again. I didn’t feel the wind too much. It’s obviously testing, but our lad loved it which is the main thing.”