IT is fair to say that Jonbon is one horse that has been responsible for plenty of comment pieces in recent times, as his place among the Grade 1 elite is debated.
However, what cannot be questioned is the 10-year-old’s record. In 26 runs under rules, the Walk In The Park gelding has won 19 times and finished second in his remaining seven races. That admirable CV was further enhanced when he added an 11th top-level success with his three-length defeat of fellow point-to-point graduate Thistle Ask in the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase at Ascot.
The calibre of his opposition is sure to be debated elsewhere, but as a point-to-point graduate, he has certainly delivered upon the great expectations which surrounded his introduction into competitive life within the pointing sphere.
As a full-brother to the eight-time Grade 1 winner Douvan, and having cost €140,000 as a store, it is fair to say that a sense of expectation had already begun to build around him, even before he had ever raised a gallop in public.
Success on debut
However, right from the outset, he delivered. Introduced in a four-year-old maiden at Dromahane in November 2020 by Ellmarie Holden, he blitzed the field in a nine-runner contest, one that contained a pair of subsequent listed handicap chase winners, before being sold to J.P. McManus for £570,000 at a Goffs UK sale at Yorton Farm.
Such sizeable six-figure price tags can prove to be an insurmountable burden that some horses fail to overcome, but that weight of expectation is one that Jonbon has defied throughout his career.
As a result of his latest Grade 1 triumph, he has now recorded a top-level success in five consecutive calendar years, illustrating particularly admirable longevity, and he is not alone in that regard.
A similar level of expectations surrounded Envoi Allen after he was sold for £400,000 at the Tattersalls February sale in Cheltenham, following his Ballinaboola success for Colin Bowe in 2018.
In the almost eight years that have passed, that Muhtathir gelding has gone on to win Grade 1 races in seven consecutive calendar years, a feat that few others can lay claim to.
A less-pricey purchase
Whilst they are two of the pricier pointing exports to have achieved significant graded success in their years out of the pointing ranks, there was evidence last weekend that big-race success can be secured with purchases from the pointing fields at all price points.
Because on the same afternoon that Jonbon landed the Clarence House Chase prize in Ascot, there were 16 other winning ex-pointers across the afternoon, including Ooh Betty.
The Westerner mare had won her four-year-old mares’ maiden in Bartlemy for Shark Hanlon, after which she was sold for just £10,000.
That has proven to be a particularly shrewd investment by her current connections, as last Saturday, she won her biggest race to date in the Grade 2 Warfield Mares’ Hurdle at Ascot.
Now a six-time winner, with career earnings just shy of £120,000, she is proof that big-race success can be achieved irrespective of the number of zeros at the end of the purchase price.
PANDA Boy very much put himself on the road to the St James’ Place Festival Hunter Chase with a commanding victory at Thurles last Sunday.
His nine-length success over Lifetime Ambition at the Tipperary venue was at odds with the direction of travel within the open hunter chase ranks on these shores of late, with the front pair both talented ex-track horses in the latter years of their competitive careers.
Evidence of that can be seen in the results from within this division over the past 12 months, where of the 10 open hunter chases run on these shores, just two were won by horses that had run in anything other than a point-to-point or hunter chase. Panda Boy joined last season’s Listowel hunter chase winner Bugs Moran in that select cohort, whereas with Its On The Line, Asphalt Cowboy, Bartlemy Boy, Lisleigh Lad, Big Interest, My Best Valentine and Ryehill winning the other big Irish prizes, it has been those who progressed exclusively through the pointing ranks that have tended to dominate.
Securing the ticket
If Panda Boy is to make the Cheltenham line-up, he will have to run again to secure his place in the race.
His connections have until February 23rd to either win an open lightweight back between the flags, or finish in the first two in next month’s hunter chase at Naas.
These five weekends of action in the open division always prove to be particularly interesting as connections try to take advantage of the remaining opportunities to secure their Cheltenham qualification.
That is what Wrappedupinmay achieved at Carrigarostig on Sunday, with his second consecutive eye-catching open victory within the space of just19 days.
The rejuvenated eight-year-old now looks set to be a notable addition to the Irish contenders for Cheltenham.
Point-to-point ratings
AT Carrigarostig, Willow Tide (91+) more than made amends for falling three out on debut in Boulta, and there was no evidence that the fall had left its mark either. He jumped confidently from the front, and takingly, although the runner-up did come on terms two out, he was able to find more in reserve to win going away.
This is a track where front-running tactics appear to be beneficial, as Kimai (80++) also raced from the front in the mares’ equivalent. She had the form in the book from Lisronagh last year, and never had to be asked a serious question to win very snugly.
Meanwhile, at Ballycrystal, Cosmic Connection (89+) swept around his rivals to win a race where the front pair returned 27 lengths clear of their rivals.
Jukebox Bess (80+) picked up best off a steady gallop in the mares’ maiden, whilst the confined maiden is usually one of the strongest races of the season in that category, given the handlers who race with a Ballinagore hunter certificate.
Donnchadh Doyle has now won the race four years running, and with his three previous victors all winning on the track, L’Aurige (87++) should follow suit after his 35-length success.