Andrew Asquith, John Ingles and Tony McFadden assess this weekend's action, including the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown.
What's your verdict on the Tingle Creek Chase?
Andrew Asquith: I think Jonbon will be a lot closer or maybe even able to reverse Shloer Chase form with L’Eau du Sud, who was further forward fitness-wise at Cheltenham, and also relished very testing conditions. Jonbon will be much happier returning to a track where some of his best efforts have come, a likely quicker surface will also suit his cause, and Nicky Henderson is going better now than he was at the time of Jonbon's reappearance. However, Jonbon did relinquish his unbeaten record at Sandown to Il Etait Temps over this course and distance last season and, as the betting suggests, the Irish raider will prove hard to beat. He confirmed his well-being with a win in a Grade 2 over two and a half miles at Clonmel last month, barely having to come out of second gear, and his form is really starting to stack up now.
John Ingles: Jonbon has landed the odds in the last two Tingle Creeks but clearly has more on his plate this time up against the two younger rivals who have beaten him on his last two starts. That makes it a really interesting contest this year. I’m sure Jonbon will be more competitive than he was at Cheltenham where Dan Skelton had L’Eau du Sud fully tuned up first time out, while Jonbon looks particularly at home around Sandown. However, Il Etait Temps beat him impressively over course and distance in the Celebration Chase in April and a repeat of that effort on softer ground would make Willie Mullins’ runner the one to beat.
Tony McFadden: Il Etait Temps spent his novice hurdle campaign in the shadow of Facile Vega, while he perhaps didn't get the credit he deserved during his novice chase campaign, despite winning three Grade 1s, as stablemates Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File took most of the plaudits. I'd also been guilty of underestimating Il Etait Temps but that changed when he thumped Jonbon in the Celebration Chase at Sandown last season, over the same course and distance as the Tingle Creek. Maybe Jonbon wasn't at his best at the end of another long and successful campaign, but it was still impressive how readily Il Etait Temps brushed him aside and he can back that up and confirm himself the best two-miler around.
Majborough could make his return in the Hilly Way Chase at Cork on Sunday. Do you view him as a leading Champion Chase contender?
AA: He wouldn’t be on my list at the minute, no. Majborough is a horse of serious ability, but his jumping wasn’t quite polished last season, and that has to be a concern for all the top races at two miles. He made a shuddering mistake in the Arkle which cost him and even when winning at Punchestown when last seen his jumping wasn’t too fluent. He’s in excellent hands, and is open to improvement as a second-season chaser, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to back him for a Champion Chase just yet.
JI: He has the raw ability and a good deal of potential given he’s just a five-year-old with only four races over fences behind him, but the one thing he needs to improve on to make him a wholly convincing Champion Chase contender is his jumping. That certainly made the difference between victory and defeat in the Arkle, and even when he subsequently won by a wide-margin at Punchestown, he tended to go left. That’s something to keep an eye on going the same way round at Cork, but if he’s capable of giving weight to the likes of Energumene and Found A Fifty on Sunday he’ll be right in the Champion Chase picture regardless of what happens at Sandown the day before.
TM: I wouldn't expect Majborough's Champion Chase claims to be dented this weekend as he's likely to prove too good for Energumene, who is rising 12 and not the force of old, and Found A Fifty, who looks exposed as a notch below the best two-mile chasers. However, like the others, I'd be cool on Majborough's Champion Chase claims. He may well go down that route as his owner, JP McManus, has Fact To File for the Ryanair Chase, but the strong-galloping Majborough strikes me as one who would appreciate longer trips. Il Etait Temps looks like a more natural two-miler for the Mullins stable.
Are you with or against Lulamba in the Henry VIII Novices' Chase?
AA: I’m very much with him. He quickly developed into a smart juvenile hurdler last season, but he’s all over a chaser on looks, and he immediately reached a similar level of form when making a seamless transition to fences at Exeter. There was little not to like about that performance, having the race sewn up some way from home and easing clear on the run-in in the style of a most exciting prospect. There is scope for improvement in the jumping department as he was safe at some fences, but that will come with experience, and he can make the most of the healthy weight-for-age allowance he gets now moving into Grade 1 company.
JI: He was very good on his debut over fences at Exeter and the 6 lb he’s getting from his rivals as a four-year-old will obviously be a big help. But at the odds Lump Sum has to be interesting. He was smart over hurdles himself and could hardly have made a better impression on his own chasing debut at Uttoxeter. That form has had a big boost since from runner-up Jax Junior winning by a dozen lengths at Kempton next time, earning a 141p rating, so Lulamba looks worth taking on.
TM: He won't be a betting proposition on Saturday but I'd be wary of opposing him. He has created a big impression since joining Nicky Henderson from France and has the Timeform 'Large P' to show that significant improvement is expected following his comfortable victory on his chasing debut at Exeter last month. If one of these is capable of shaking up the Irish come the spring it is likely to be him.
Which novice chaser has impressed you most so far this season?
AA: It’s hard not to say Romeo Coolio following his excellent win in the Grade 1 Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse last weekend. He jumped superbly, proving himself a natural over the larger obstacles following his chase debut where half of the fences were omitted, and he oozes class. Romeo Coolio was smart at up to two miles over hurdles, but both of his wins over fences have come at around two and a half miles, and you wouldn’t rule him out staying further still. He’s in the Grade 1 Faugheen Novice Chase on Boxing Day and it would be a fascinating clash if both he and Final Demand turned up.
JI: Take your pick from several that Willie Mullins has been rolling out in recent weeks, but it’s hard to believe that Final Demand doesn’t have a big future as a chaser. He really looked the part for fences when demolishing his rivals in Grade 1 company on two occasions in Ireland last year and as a future staying chaser you can forgive his defeat behind Champion Hurdle contender The New Lion at Cheltenham. The way he jumped and travelled on his chasing debut at Navan recently was hard to fault, pulling right away from Wingmen who he also beat at the Dublin Racing Festival last season, and hopefully we’ll see Final Demand next in graded company at the end of the month.
TM: Like Andy, I find it hard to look beyond Romeo Coolio who is Timeform's highest-rated novice chaser following his impressive victory in the Drinmore. He had to settle for minor honours in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham and Top Novices' Hurdle at Aintree, but his jumping looks like a serious asset and he can make a bigger impact this spring.
Give us a handicapper to note this weekend.
AA: Knickerbockerglory made all of the running to win the Bet At Your Best With Betfair Handicap Hurdle (14:25) at Sandown 12 months ago and he’s seemingly been primed for a repeat bid. He has an excellent record when fresh, and he was declared a non-runner for his intended return at Cheltenham a few weeks back on account of the ground. I’m not sure why, given he has plenty of form on heavy, but this may have been the plan all along and there’s a strong chance he’ll be able to dominate from the front again in this field.
JI: Lump Sum’s trainer Sam Thomas has his string in great form and last season’s Welsh Grand National runner-up Jubilee Express is being teed up for that race again in the Welsh Grand National Trial (13:36) at Chepstow. The stable’s runners are usually fit first time out but Jubilee Express very much needed the run when returning from nine months off in an amateurs’ contest at Cheltenham last month. That’s sure to have done him good, and back on the same mark that he ran from at Chepstow last Christmas, he can book his place in the field again by winning the Trial.
TM: Ben Solo's sole success over hurdles was achieved at Chepstow and he also demonstrated his effectiveness at the undulating course when a decisive winner of a novice handicap chase last month. Ben Solo had shaped as if in need of the run when only fifth over an inadequate trip on his return but, upped in distance to around two and a half miles, he showed much-improved form to score with something in hand. He impressed with his jumping, particularly given his lack of experience, and with further improvement anticipated he could prove hard to peg back over the same course and distance (12:29).
Published at 1715 GMT on 04/12/25
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