L'Eau Du Sud wins at Cheltenham

Betfair Tingle Creek Chase preview: Sporting Life Podcast tips

By Sporting Life

Horse Racing

Sat December 06, 2025 · 2w ago

Our Racing Podcast team on who will come out on top in Saturday's big clash for the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase.

ED CHAMBERLIN: 'He has major questions to answer'

I haven’t changed my mind since we first talked about this post the Shloer. I love Jonbon to bits and would love for him to bounce back but I do feel he has major questions to answer after that performance at Cheltenham.

Watch the start of the Tingle Creek very closely, Harry Skelton will be Vinnie Jones against Paul Gascoigne again down at the start. Skelton is clever, very clever.

And to me I just thought Jonbon might be on the downgrade. I’m worried about him, he just didn’t look in love with it in the Shloer and has questions to answer. I couldn’t back him even at 4/1 or 9/2.

This time last week I said Impose Toi could rival Strong Leader for favouritism at Newbury and he actually went off market leader and I can see these two, Il Etait Temps and L’Eau Du Sud, ending up much closer together than they are right now.

For me, 4/7 Il Etait Temps, the way the Willie Mullins horses are being campaigned again, is too short. We know L’Eau Du Sud loves Sandown, we know he loves this time of year and was very, very good last time. And we know what the Skeltons are like, every weekend they are banging in these big-race winners and I think the two of them will come much closer together (in the betting) before the off on Saturday.

I think you’re a brave, brave punter if you’re backing Il Etait Tempts at 4/7 even though he was brilliant in the Celebration Chase here in April. At the prices I’m very much in the L’Eau Du Sud camp.

Tingle time as big clashes continue...

MATT BROCKLEBANK: 'I don’t like him at odds-on'

I agree with Ed here. I suppose the important thing to remember is I’m not making the case for L’Eau Du Sud being the all-conquering champion two-mile chaser for the season.

I just think if he’s ever going to beat Il Etait Temps, it’s in this race. He won four in a row as a novice, including the Grade One on this card, and while this is a different calibre altogether, he couldn’t have done any more than he did in the Shloer.

He beat Jonbon by 15 lengths and if you were a little worried about Jonbon having the legs for two miles after the Celebration Chase, then the Shloer really hammered it home.

I think L’Eau Du Sud is the one for this weekend. He’s going to handle any further easing of the ground if we get that too.

I have full respect for Il Etait Temps but at the beginning of last season I was making a case for him running in the King George. I’ve always liked him but it took a while for Paul Townend to fully come round to him, Danny Mullins was magic on him a couple of times.

No, I like the horse but I don’t like him at odds-on for the Betfair Tingle Creek, a British Grade One before Christmas. I just think if there’s a horse who’s going to be cherry-ripe on Saturday then it’s L’Eau Du Sud.

I know Dan Skelton said there wasn’t any physical improvement to come from Cheltenham but there might not have to be to give the favourite a real race.

Il Etait Temps winning the Celebration Chase

FRAN BERRY: 'I don’t think anyone knows how good he is'

The thing with Il Etait Temps is I don’t think anyone knows how good he is really. He’s not a horse who seems to show up at all at home on the gallops and to an extent has been under-rated in the main.

But his win at the end of last season at Sandown, given the length of time he’d been off the track, was so good. Willie Mullins said he was barely ready to go but with the trainers’ championship and the fact it was the last race for him that season, they rolled the dice and he duly went and won over course-and-distance in a really good manner.

I think he’s a wonderful horse for connections and the fact he has started earlier this year, with regular racing, means he can only improve off that and he can develop into one of the leading two-milers.

At the odds I’d be happy to watch him and see what happens but I think it’s only this winter that we’ll see the best of him and begin to respect how good he is.