'We've learned to live with these things' - Nicky Henderson and Nico de Boinville react to Jonbon's Champion Chase defeat

Nico de Boinville said Jonbon was always on the back foot following his defeat in the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase after being struck in the face by the tape at the start.

The 5-6 favourite was slowly into stride after the standing start and De Boinville said Jonbon was "startled" as it made contact under his nose in the early stages.

The Nicky Henderson-trained nine-year-old, who was bidding for a tenth Grade 1 win, had made all when scoring in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot in January but was positioned in midfield in the early stages. 

His chance appeared to disappear as he dropped to a distant last after making a major error five out, with De Boinville being almost unseated. Jonbon kept on in the closing stages despite being beaten by Marine Nationale to overtake the tiring Captain Guinness and Solness and take second.

Marine Nationale: won the Champion ChaseCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

De Boinville said: "We were stood up against the tape, it's gone back and pinged up against his nose. He's just been startled for a second, then they've gone hard.

"At five out there was a stride there but he lost his sight slightly, decided to chip in and it wasn't there. From there you're doing what you can. He's some horse but these things happen."  

The incident approaching the top of the hill came at a similar point his stablemate Constitution Hill fell in Tuesday's Unibet Champion Hurdle.

Henderson said: "We've learned to live with these things after all these years. Nico said he got a fright from the tape at the start and it put him on the back foot before it started. He missed his kick and all of a sudden we were where we didn't want to be.

"It's a great result for the winner. Marine Nationale was the horse we had to fear most so fair play to them. You've got to grab your opportunities and they did."

Analysis - Jonbon reverse a familiar tale of woe

For all the talk of his affinity or otherwise for the course, Jonbon has been undone by exactly the same thing as so many odds-on shots in the Champion Chase before him: the fences.

As his mistake shows, one blunder is basically the end of your race when you are thundering around Cheltenham with the best two-mile chasers. That he was still able to finish second, behind an admittedly impressive winner in Marine Nationale, leaves a tantalising taste of what might have been.

But you cannot say he was beaten by the course, any more than El Fabiolo was last year, or Shishkin was in 2022, or Chacun Pour Soi in 2021. Jonbon 2025 is just another name for that lengthening list of beaten Champion Chase hotpots.
Keith Melrose

Read these next:

'Michael's the man who made him' - Marine Nationale brings the house down with a thunderous Champion Chase victory 

Golden Ace capitalises on final flight fall of State Man to win dramatic Champion Hurdle after Constitution Hill crashes out 

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