'One run before Cheltenham' - superb Jonbon strengthens as Supreme favourite

Friday: Ascot

Nicky Henderson has never been a trainer to hide his emotions and it was no surprise to see a good deal of them fighting their way to the surface after Jonbon’s emphatic Grade 2 victory at Ascot on Friday.

There was the joy and excitement of victory, there was the sadness and regret of having arrived at the course after a “brutal morning” in which Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle favourite Buzz sustained a fractured pelvis, and there was just a touch of frustration when the subjects of future races and Shishkin came to the fore.

First, the joy. Henderson was seriously impressed with the manner in which Jonbon had shown increasing maturing and raw athletic ability to accelerate away from Colonel Mustard and Knappers Hill to land the 1m7½f contest under jockey Aidan Coleman.

2.20 Ascot: full result and replay

With Jonbon having shown a tendency to get himself warm and overrace, his rivals made next to no attempt to go on after the race started.

However, Coleman showed confidence in the five-year-old’s growing experience to press on to lead before opening up stylishly in the straight.

“They were playing games at the start trying to get him going, so Aidan thought ‘sod it’ and went on,” Henderson said.

“Aidan said you can do anything with him and he’s extraordinarily professional for a horse that had so little experience. He was a cool dude the whole way around and he had them off the bridle a long way out off no gallop as his cruising speed is so high.”

The performance solidified Jonbon’s position at the head of the market for Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle for which he was cut to 5-2 (from 9-2) by bookmakers, with stablemate Constitution Hill second favourite.

Nicky Henderson on Jonbon: 'He's extraordinarily professional'Credit: Edward Whitaker

Henderson was unsure exactly where Jonbon would be heading after his impressive success, but was certain he would be giving JP McManus’s fledgling star no more than one run before lining up in the Supreme.

“We’ll enjoy today, and I’d say it’d be one run before Cheltenham,” he said. “People will be saying ‘why not run him five times, we want to see him!’ but there’s no point. His whole future is in front of him and we’re getting through the nervous nineties with him. That’s what today was.”

Asked about Shishkin, Henderson added: “He worked this morning and had a good blow but he scoped clean. He needs to do that again on Tuesday and then we’ll make a decision. I even took a video of him and I was going to put it on the big screen here with the date to show everyone how he is!”

As for Buzz, Henderson was visibly deflated when speaking about the injury the grey sustained on Friday morning, but said: “After the trials and tribulations of this morning it was nice to get that [from Jonbon]. This morning was brutal to say the least but then after something like that you can get something that brings the heart back, and that’s what happened. That was special.”

What the bookies say

Rupert Adams, William Hill spokesperson

"He came with a big price tag and Jonbon is living up to it after another impressive showing over hurdles, this time at Ascot.

"It did the job for our traders too as we are now just 6-4 for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival about the Nicky Henderson-trained runner. We're taking absolutely no chances with him and as a result are the shortest price in the industry, while we're now 14-1 for the 2023 Champion Hurdle."

Expert view: 'He covers the ground effortlessly'

Jonbon was in a class of his own and is evidently right there among the best novice hurdlers in Britain. He covers the ground effortlessly, jumps slickly and settles like an old pro.

It's hard to find any chinks in his armour at this stage of his career and he looks as if he might be even better when granted a stronger pace. There's not a lot more to say than the sky's the limit.
Graeme Rodway

Read this next:

'He pulled up and then bang' – Buzz out of Long Walk after fracturing pelvis

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