Nicky Henderson expects Jonbon to defend his Melling Chase crown at Aintree.
The crack two-miler stepped up to two and a half miles for the first time under Rules in the Liverpool Grade 1 last season and proved his stamina in keeping on well to deny Conflated.
Jonbon has been campaigned over two miles this term but could now step back up in distance following his surprise defeat in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.
A mistake five from home effectively put Jonbon out of contention but Nico de Boinville nursed him back into the race and his mount stayed on strongly to finish an unlikely second.
De Boinville felt the standing start contributed to Jonbon's defeat, explaining earlier in the week that 'we were stood up against the tape, the tape pinged back and it went underneath his nose, which just sort of startled him for a second, then you are on the back foot and they’ve gone hard'.
Speaking on Racing TV on Saturday, Henderson reiterated that view, saying: “It wasn’t so much the mistake itself going down the back, it was the start and that really got us into the wrong position from the word go. That was frustrating, to be honest with you, but there you go. He got behind early on and he just loves to be up there attacking and he just couldn’t get there from where he was.
"I suppose everyone will go back to ‘he doesn’t like Cheltenham’. It’s got nothing to do with it, he’s perfectly happy around Cheltenham, he just doesn’t get any luck there.
“He’s fine, he’s got to go again and I think he would go to Aintree. Two and a half miles certainly isn’t a worry. I’d have thought that’s where we’d go, and he loves Sandown. A bit further wouldn’t hurt him, so we’ve got that to come at Aintree.”
Henderson also had news of another stable star, Constitution Hill, who fell in the Champion Hurdle when attempting to regain his title.
"He’s going to have to just go back to school for a moment, but that’s not a problem," he said.
"We’ll do that and think about what we do next. He’ll run again, where we’ll go I’m not quite sure, but I’d have thought Punchestown is most likely. It’s the most obvious thing to do, the one thing you have to be careful of in May is the ground is the worry, but I’m sure they’ll do a good job there.
"I’d have thought all going well that will be the plan.”
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
