Jonbon can finally make his mark at the Festival
LAST year those at Cheltenham were treated to one of the best performances in recent Festival memory when Fact To File cruised to victory in the Grade One Ryanair Chase (4.00pm).
His ability to jump and travel at pace, plus excess reserves of stamina over this trip, make him ideally suited to this two-and-a-half-mile contest and he is sure to go off a red-hot favourite to make it consecutive successes this year, after a brilliant performance in the Irish Gold Cup last time.
While he is undoubtably the one to beat, he doesn’t excite me at the prices, and instead I’m going to look elsewhere for some each-way value.
You certainly can’t count out a horse as consistent as JONBON.
It’s been bandied about that he isn’t a Cheltenham horse, but he actually has a good record at Prestbury Park, winning twice and finishing second four times from six starts over fences.
He was unlucky when making a shuddering error in last year’s Champion Chase but still did very well to fly up the hill and snatch second behind Marine Nationale.
After an underwhelming reappearance this season, he has been moved up in trip and it really seems to have benefitted Nicky Henderson’s 10-year-old.
He won the Clarence House over two-mile-one-furlong at Ascot and then showed all his battling qualities to land the Ascot Chase over two-and-a-half-miles last time out.
Now he’s a bit older, this trip looks to be ideal for him, and it means his jumping isn’t under as much pressure as over the shorter distance.
The stamina exacting New Course will give him more time between his obstacles, and I think we should see him storming up the hill at the finish.
At 6/1 with BetMGM, he’s more than worth a each-way play, and it would bring the house down if he was finally able to break his Festival duck.
SUPREMELY WEST has been tipped up across the board for the Pertemps Final (4.40pm), and I do think he has an outstanding chance for a yard that are so good at targeting races like this.
Dan Skelton’s eight-year-old qualified for this race back in October, when finishing third behind Ma Shantou and Electric Mason, both horses that have gone on to frank the form since.
Three runs since have seen him perform well enough without really being put into his races, and with this being the long-term plan, it would be no surprise if he proved too well handicapped for his rivals.
If there is one at a bigger price that could upset the Skelton hotpot, perhaps it’s BOLD ENDEAVOUR.
He’s now a 10-year-old but has an excellent record of 4225 at Cheltenham and is 13 pounds below the mark he finished fourth off in this race two years ago.
After a season with Laura Morgan, he has returned to Nicky Henderson’s Seven Barrows yard that sent out the winner of this race last season.
The day’s finale, the Kim Muir (5.20pm), is a race that JP McManus has won three times in the last 10 years and he holds fine claims with the two market leaders Jeriko Du Reponet and Waterford Whispers.
The worry with Jeriko is that his jumping might not stand up to this test, while Waterford Whispers has to stay this trip and might prefer softer ground.
Instead, a decent each-way bet at 9/1 looks to be HERAKLES WESTWOOD, who has run well on all three starts at Cheltenham this season, including when winning on New Year’s Day.
He stays well and looks to have a squeak.
POINTERS THURSDAY
Jonbon e/w 4.00pm Cheltenham
Supremely West 4.40pm Cheltenham
Bold Endeavour e/w 4.40pm Cheltenham
Herakles Westwood e/w 5.20pm Cheltenham