Jonbon’s record outside of Cheltenham:
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Returning to Cheltenham for the first time since The Festival, Henderson horse Jonbon will be taking on Leau Du Sud in the Schloer cup (a race he’s won the last two years). Jonbon’s Cheltenham record isn’t shining; he wasn’t able to win at the festival and has struggled at Prestbury Park in the past but he’s hoping to go three for three in today’s feature race.
Racegoers had mixed opinions on his chances with some very confident about Jonbon and others fancying some longer odds horses to go the distance. It’s understandable he has lots of backers, he’s never finished outside the top two, so he seems a safe bet today.
One racegoer said “hundred percent he wins, he’s one of the best horses, he’s the people’s horse.”
Most bookmakers have set Jonbons odds at around 10/11, but Bet365 have super boosted him to 6/4. A Jonbon fan in attendance today said, “shall we get on boys, its time to lump on”. The confidence in Jonbon is clearly very high for him.
When asked about Jonbons odds one fan said “his odds should be shorter, 4/6 would be better.”
It’s certainly fair to argue Jonbon deserves short odds, 18 wins in 23 runs is a very impressive record and never finishing outside the top two is almost unheard of for a chaser.
A bookie at the course said he thinks he will be taking the most money from Jonbon backers but likes Leau du Suds chance if anyone’s brave enough to take on the favourite.
There are some worries about the Henderson trained horse, he recently underwent a wind operation. These procedures are notorious for ending a horse’s winning career but can also give a horse the boost they need. It will be interesting to see how it affected him.
The man aboard is Nico de Boinville, a proven Jockey in National Hunt racing, however last time this pair ran round Prestbury Park Jonbons jumping confidence was fragile and early in the race he clipped a fence which put him to the back of the field. After that mistake he was able to recover slightly and finish second, but he never looked like winning.
His main challenger today is Skelton horse Leau du Sud, with four wins from his last six races he looks to be on top form. At odds of 7/2 he will be tempting lots of punters into going against the favourite. All this horse’s recent wins have come with Harry Skelton on board and he’s back at the wheel again today.
