The Betfair Tingle Creek meeting at Sandown takes centre stage on Saturday afternoon. The Group 1 Chase (16h55) has attracted a small but quality field of six runners, including last year’s winner Greaneteen for champion trainer Paul Nicholls and jockey Harry Cobden.
Pic – Timeform – Facebook
Last year Greaneteen was a convincing 5 and a half length winner from stablemate Hitman with the fancied Nube Negra and Chacun Pour Soi well-beaten.
The year Greaneteen, currently second favourite at 7/4, has to contend with the re-emergence of star chaser Shishkin from the inform Nicky Henderson yard. No horse in training has a higher Timeform rating than Shishkin, who earned a figure of 181 for his stirring success over Energumene in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot in January.
There is little doubt about his outstanding talent, and at his best he will be very hard to beat, but the Evens favourite was most disappointing on his final start last season in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham when he was pulled-up after several poor jumps.
Shishkin was subsequently diagnosed with a rare bone condition. For the first time in his career Shishkin now has a serious question to answer. Can he recapture his top-class form?
If he does, he will win. He’s at least 10 lb clear of his rivals on Timeform’s figures, but the presence of Greaneteen, whose three Group 1 wins have all been achieved at this track, and the Alan King trained Edwardstone means he will have to be back to his best to land the £100,000 first prize.
Stablemate to Shishkin, Jonbon looks to have far easier task in the Gr1 Close Brothers Henry VIII Novices’ Chase (15h45) earlier on the card.
Jonbon was amongst the best in the novice hurdle division last season, winning a Group 1 at Aintree after suffering his only defeat to date behind stablemate Constitution Hill in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. He looked very impressive on his seasonal return at Warwick in a novices’ chase defeating the smart Monmiral by 7-lengths in style. He has scared away the opposition with only three rivals challenging for Saturday’s Group 1 contest.
On Sunday, the mighty mare Honeysuckle makes her seasonal return and attempts to capture an historic fourth Hatton’s Grace Hurdle (16h30) at Fairyhouse. She goes in search of her 17th consecutive victory and is unbeaten in seven starts at this course. With six of her seven rivals having to concede a 7lbs sex allowance to the Rachael Blackmore ridden 8-year-old, she should continue her unbeaten sequence.
