Nicky Henderson says a final decision on whether Jonbon runs at the Cheltenham Festival - and in which race - has yet to be made.
Speaking to Oli Bell during a visit to Seven Barrows on Thursday morning, Henderson explained that the JP McManus-owned Grade 1 star could still head to either the Champion Chase and the Ryanair Chase.
“The question is still open,” Henderson said. “He’s in the Champion Chase. He’s going to be in the Ryanair. JP does have other options. And we’re just going to see how the cookie crumbles.”
Jonbon arrives at the spring festivals on the back of two hard-fought victories at Ascot earlier in the season, efforts Henderson believes underline both his toughness and also his current wellbeing.
“A lot of us were saying earlier on or ourselves thinking that he’d had two quite hard races at Ascot a month apart, but there were two testing races. He won them both bravely.. He had to dig pretty deep both times, which made us think that we might be better to wait for Aintree,” he said.
However, the Seven Barrows trainer made clear that the horse remains in top condition.
“He is really, really well in himself. He’s in terrific form and worked well with Nico on Thursday morning.”
“I think you would possibly say yes,” he said when asked whether he might be in better form than for previous visits.
Jonbon’s Cheltenham record has often been used against him, though Henderson pushed back on the suggestion that the horse does not act on the track.
“A lot of people would say, well, he’d have to be because he doesn’t perform around Cheltenham. Personally, I’d take that personally!
“He’s won the Shloer twice. And yes he’s been beaten but don’t forget, he’s still always been second. He’s never been out of the first two from the time he was second to Constitution Hill in the Supreme to being second in last year’s Champion Chase.”
Henderson also pointed to the unusual circumstances surrounding Jonbon’s defeat in the 2025 Champion Chase.
“Forget about last year’s Champion Chase. The tape went across, the buckle end of the tape hit him across his face. You can see his head go up. And he’s running backwards when they started.”
Jonbon is a high-profile graduate of the Goffs sales, having been purchased at the Goffs November PTP Sale in 2020 for £570,000 and has already amassed £1.65m in prize money.
Henderson revealed that Jonbon’s remarkable tally of 12 Grade 1 victories has not gone unnoticed by owner JP McManus.
“I talked to JP the other night and he has,” Henderson said when asked whether they had an eye on the all-time record of 16 Grade 1s held by Kauto Star.
“But every time you tick one off, it’s worth thinking about it. Jesus, that’d be some achievement, wouldn’t it?”
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