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Nicky Henderson believes Jonbon deserves “high star status” as he bids to become the first horse since the mighty Kauto Star to win successive renewals of the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown on Saturday.
Despite being a seven-time Grade 1 winner, the JP McManus-owned contender may not have the same status as Henderson's past crack two-milers, although the Seven Barrows handler has no hesitation comparing Jonbon with the likes of Sprinter Sacre and Altior, who both starred with scintillating performance at the Esher venue.
"I think you have to give him pretty high star status as he certainly compares with all the others," said Henderson. "To be fair any horse that has won the amount of Grade 1's that he has done has to be pretty good.
"They have all been completely different. Sprinter was unique as he was just a big, beautiful, mighty horse and Altior was great.
"He matches up with all the other lads. He is a solid person and a great character."
Jonbon will face seven rivals as he bids to defend his Tingle Creek crown and is a general 8/15 chance on the back of his smooth reappearance victory in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham last month.
The Nicky Henderson-trained eight-year-old always looked to be doing enough out in front when coming home a length and a half to the good up the Prestbury Park hill, but Henderson is taking nothing for granted on Saturday, with the reopposing Boothill and old rival Edwardstone both providing stern opposition alongside Henry de Bromhead's Irish raider Quilixios.
Henderson, who is seeking a fourth win in the race, said: "We are very happy with Jonbon. Paddy (Murphy) who rides him every day tells me he is very happy, but he is an eternal optimist, so I hope he is right!
"The whole idea of the Shloer is that it is a nice stepping stone, and although it comes quite close to the Tingle Creek, it brought him on really well last year, and I'd be disappointed if it hasn't brought him on again this year.
"Edwardstone was there with us in the Shloer and I expect Alan King thinks, and hopes, he will have come on for that race, and the second Boothill as well, as they were all making their seasonal debuts, but we would hope we can confirm the placings.
"They are all entitled to come on for the Shloer run, but so is Jonbon and I think we are in a good place with him.
"I gather there is plenty of rain to come so we have got to be prepared for soft ground, but I think he is pretty versatile as far as ground is concerned. Like any top-class horse, he can handle most things.
"We are now in a crucial part of the year where you need to be winning these sorts of races.
"It is nice if you have horses, like Jonbon, that can at least go in there with a good shout, but as always it is going to be competitive.
"We know that he quite likes Sandown as he has already won a Tingle Creek so let's try and bag another one."
The Walk In The Park gelding is unbeaten in all four previous visits to the Esher venue and Henderson feels that his ability to handle Sandown's unique chase course stands him in good stead as he bids for an eighth Grade 1 success.
He added: "He does seem to like Sandown, and the track seems to suit him well.
"He seems to get into a good rhythm around there, which some horses don't find as easy as he possibly does.
"It is a real test as those fences come up in all shapes and sizes and sometimes very quickly, which he seems to enjoy.
"It would be good if he can win this twice as this is one of the first big Grade One tests on the calendar and it is a historic race in memory of what was a great horse, Tingle Creek, who I remember well."
Last season saw Jonbon step up to two and a half miles for the first time under Rules when winning the Grade 1 My Pension Expert Melling Chase up at Aintree, but Henderson is keen to stick to the two-mile programme this season, with a crack at the elusive BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival firmly on the agenda.
"He was supposed to go to Cheltenham for the Queen Mother in March, but as you know we weren't happy with the horses on the whole at that time, and we had to just pass the meeting by," said Henderson.
"We then wanted to go to Aintree, where there isn't a two-mile race, but a very good two-and-a-half-mile race.
"Two and a half miles around Aintree is a different ball game to two miles around Cheltenham as one is a very easy track, and one is a very stiff one.
"However, he was always going to come back to two miles for the Celebration Chase after that.
"It would have been very interesting to have tried three miles, and if you were ever going to do it, I suppose the obvious thing would have been to look at the King George, but if you do that you then take him out of the Tingle Creek.
"He hasn't won a Champion Chase, and that would be nice, but you just take things one race at a time."