Reporter: Andy Gibson
This was a super impressive performance from Il Etait Temps in beating a horse with an almost exemplary record round Sandown. Jonbon has now managed to finish in the first two places in all 25 career starts under rules which is an incredible record. He represents a high-class marker for this form and yet the winner Il Etait Temps beat him even more easily than he did in the Celebration Chase here in late April.
Given the usual response to a performance like this, I am a little surprised to see this winner still trading as big as 11-4 for the Champion Chase in March. The one word of caution being that I want to focus on the quality of this winning performance whilst, at the same time, not forgetting how much Il Etait Temps struggled to negotiate the Cheltenham fences in the 2024 Arkle Chase. In addition, this nine-length winner has arguably been disappointing in each of his three attempts when competing at the Cheltenham Festival.
Another superb performance from this incredibly reliable and consistent high-class chaser. His Sandown form continues to look more convincing compared to how he has often performed at Cheltenham. He managed to turn around his comprehensive defeat to L’Eau Du Sud at Cheltenham in the Shloer Chase from less than a month ago.
Whether the main variable at work in the turnaround of his form with the runner up here was due to Jonbon needing the run at Cheltenham is difficult to say with any certainty. Either way, L’Eau Du Sud’s bubble was certainly burst a little here. That said, he seems to be at his best when competing as a fresh horse so maybe we will not see him again until March.
I doubt the ground was soft enough for him here though whether he would be able to compete with this winner, and indeed the runner up, in any circumstances is doubtful. He will probably need very testing ground to offer him his best chance of winning at graded level this season.
He requires a sound surface to show his best form and hopefully he will enjoy his ideal conditions when we hopefully see him back at Kempton for a third attempt at the Grade 2 Desert Orchid Chase.
