Jonbon Cheltenham bound, but Dublin beckons for El Fabiolo

Adam Morgan
January 21, 2024 3:00 pm

Star two-mile chasers are likely to be kept apart until the spring.

Nicky Henderson will do his best to “keep a lid” on Jonbon ahead of Saturday’s Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham, where he appears increasingly unlikely to meet old rival El Fabiolo.

The top-class pair have crossed paths twice before, with Jonbon coming out on top in a Grade One novice hurdle at Aintree in 2022 before the Willie Mullins-trained El Fabiolo took his revenge in the Arkle last March.

The trilogy looked set to take place at Ascot this weekend before freezing temperatures forced Saturday’s fixture to be abandoned – and while Henderson has confirmed Jonbon an intended contender in a rescheduled running at Prestbury Park, connections of El Fabiolo have all but ruled out a trip to the Cotswolds.

Nicky Henderson is looking forward to running Jonbon at Cheltenham (John Walton/PA)

Of Jonbon, Henderson said: “The one thing he was, was 100 per cent for yesterday and now we’ve got to just keep the lid on him a little bit.

“It’s a bit of a timebomb sometimes and we just let him have a good breeze on Saturday and I didn’t gallop him with another horse yesterday.

“He did the same as everything else, just on his own – he doesn’t need any more and the clock was nicely wound.”

El Fabiolo has an obvious alternative in the form of next month’s Dublin Chase at Leopardstown and with the Clarence House prize-money reduced, he appears almost certain to stay on home soil.

Speaking at Thurles on Sunday, Mullins’ son and assistant Patrick said: “Knowing Willie, he could enter him in the Clarence House, but I think the plan is to go to the Dublin Racing Festival. That is how it looks.”

El Fabiolo on his way to winning the Hilly Way Chase at Cork (Niall Carson/PA)

Bloodstock agent Anthony Bromley, racing manager to owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, was at Lingfield, where he said: “Willie was disappointed that the prize-money dropped and that made the decision a little bit easier.

“There’s a 150,000 euros race at Dublin just a week later and once you had that option, it was a fairly straightforward decision really.

“He was in great form and I was there (Mullins’ yard) this week and they were really pleased with him, so we were really looking forward to it (the Clarence House) if it was on.

“Both owners will be over for the Dublin Racing Festival, we look forward to it each year and personally it is my favourite Festival, as everything is so condensed. I’m sure we will have quite a few runners.”

Should Jonbon and El Fabiolo come through their respective prep runs unscathed, jumps fans can look forward to a mouthwatering rematch in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, with Bromley adding: “Hopefully it happens (against Jonbon) in March, it should do.”