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Jonbon better than ever - but Cheltenham record makes him an unattractive bet for festival glory

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Senior writer
Energumene (blue): honourable runner-up to Jonbon in the Clarence House
Jonbon was too quick for Energumene in Ascot's Clarence House Chase.Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

When two big-name horses take each other on, you can either have a thrilling battle or a dominant performance. My taste would always be for the battle, such as the one Shishkin and Energumene gave us in the Clarence House three years ago, but Saturday's running of the Ascot race was one for those who prefer a convincing winner in top-class races.

Jonbon was strongly favoured by the market, which made him 8-13 favourite, and there was never really a fearful moment for his backers. Nico de Boinville adopted no-nonsense, front-running tactics and left enough in reserve for a flying leap at the last, scoring by six and a half lengths.

Energumene had set the pace when giving Shishkin a hard time in 2022 and again when making his comeback at Cork last month. But here he faced a faster, younger rival on the driest surface he had encountered and it wasn't a set of circumstances that suited him. He is now the winner of 11 of his 14 races over fences. Remarkably, his only three defeats have all come in the Clarence House.

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Published on inThe Cook Review

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