Following last weekend’s dramatic Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle, the 2m chasers’ step into the spotlight on Saturday afternoon. The Esher venue of Sandown sets the stage for the 2025 edition of the Grade 1 Tingle Creek Chase, as a talented field sets out in pursuit of the £175,000 in prize money.
First run as the Benson & Hedges Gold Cup in 1969, the race was renamed in honour of 1970s star Tingle Creek in 1979. A handicap affair in those days, the race was reclassified as a Grade 1 contest in 1994.
One of the jewels in the crown of the Sandown National Hunt season, the race boasts an enviable roll of honour, with Desert Orchid, Flagship Uberalles, Moscow Flyer, and Sprinter Sacre a selection of the star names to have come home in front.
Looking ahead to this year’s edition, six remain in contention. Five of that sextet hail from a British yard, but it is the sole Irish runner who the market suggests is the one to beat.
Temps to Extend Winning Streak to Five?
No prizes for guessing that the Irish-trained odds-on chance hails from the yard of the Cheltenham Festival and Breeders’ Cup-conquering Willie Mullins. Given his phenomenal record in recent times, it is a little surprising that Mullins has won this race only once, albeit from comparatively few attempts. Nine years on from Un De Sceaux’s battling verdict over Sire De Grugy, Il Etait Temps is out on his own at the head of the betting.
Now seven years old, Il Etait Temps lived in the shadows of more vaunted stablemates such as Vauban and Facile Vega during his time over hurdles. While he did land the Grade 1 Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle, he has stepped up markedly as a chaser. In eight starts over fences, he has won six times and never finished outside the first three. That sequence includes four Grade 1 victories. An 18l stroll in the Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase extended his current winning run to four and suggested he may be a tough nut to crack.
At a price of 4/6, he has every chance of doubling his trainer’s Tingle Creek tally.
Sud to Continue Skelton’s Run of Saturday Success
Dan Skelton has made an electric start to the 2025/26 campaign as he bids to finally master Mullins in the battle to become British Champion Trainer. In terms of big race Saturday success, the early part of the season has all but belonged to Skelton. Over the past three weeks, the Warwickshire handler has claimed both the Paddy Power Gold Cup and Coral Gold Cup with Panic Attack, and the Betfair Chase with Grey Dawning.
Bidding to keep that hot streak going is a horse who claimed his only Grade 1 novice success on this card in 2024. 3¾l too good for the field in the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase 12 months ago, L’Eau du Sud then came up short in the Arkle and Maghull Novices’ Chase.
Making his seasonal return in the Shloer Chase, he could scarcely have made a more impressive start to life in open company. Expected to play second fiddle to odds-on favourite Jonbon, the seven-year-old produced a brilliant round of jumping to cruise to a 15-length success.
A rating of 163 gives him 6lb to find with Il Etait Temps, but we may not have seen the best of him yet. At a general price of 11/4, he is the clear second favourite in most betting lists.
Jonbon to Land the Hat-trick?
As compelling as the claims of Il Etait Temps and L’Eau du Sud are, the Nicky Henderson-trained Jonbon has one factor in his favour – he has won this race not once, but twice. 2¾l too good for Edwardstone in 2023, he mastered Quilixious by a resounding eight lengths in 2024. Back for more in 2025, the much-loved nine-year-old bids to join Flagship Uberalles on three Tingle Creek wins.
Now a 10-time Grade 1 winner, there is no doubting Jonbon’s class or his ability to handle the specific demands of Sandown. The fact that he is only third in the betting is a result of his two most recent performances. Sent off at 8/15f in the Celebration Chase over this course and distance, he had no answers to Il Etait Temps in the straight. That effort came at the end of a demanding season, but his return in the Shloer Chase was a little more concerning. While he often improves for his first outing and the ground was softer than ideal, a 15-length second to L’Eau du Sud leaves him with work to do to turn the tables.
Libberty Hunter, Edwardstone, and Boothill round out the entries, but on ratings and the formbook, this is all set up for an Il Etait Temps vs L’Eau du Sud vs Jonbon cracker. Tune in at 3pm on Saturday to discover who comes out on top – or if anyone can upset the pair.