Jonbon Racehorse: The Chaser Who Won a Record Third Shloer Chase

Who is the Jonbon racehorse?

Jonbon is a 10-year-old British-trained steeplechaser who, on Friday, November 13, 2026, became the first horse to win Cheltenham's Shloer Chase three times. The Jonbon racehorse is trained by Nicky Henderson, owned by JP McManus, and has finished first or second in every one of his 29 races.

That last number is the one that makes racing people shake their heads. Jump racing is hard on horses and form comes and goes, yet he has 21 wins and eight seconds.

He is a French-bred gelding by the stallion Walk In The Park and a full brother to Douvan, another top two-mile chaser. Before that record began he won his only point-to-point (an amateur jump race, not counted in the 29) in Ireland, then was sold to McManus for £570,000 at a Goffs UK sale in November 2020.

Shloer Chase 2026 result: what happened at Cheltenham

The race was the feature on day one of Cheltenham's November Meeting, the weekend built around the Paddy Power Gold Cup.

• Winner: Jonbon (Nicky Henderson, ridden by Harry Cobden), the favourite
• Second: Mighty Bandit (Warren Greatrex, Sean Bowen), beaten 2¼ lengths
• Third: Saint Segal (Jane Williams, Ciaran Gethings), a further 9 lengths back
• Runners: three. Gidleigh Park was withdrawn because the ground was unsuitable
• Ground: good, according to the Racing Post result
• First prize: £56,950

Jonbon carried 6 lb more than each rival, the penalty for winning a Grade 1 chase since the end of September 2025. Cobden kept things simple and let him jump from fence to fence, and he was always doing enough.

Why the third win is a record

The Shloer Chase (its registered name is the Cheltenham Chase) was first run in 2009. Gauvain, Fox Norton and Nube Negra each won it twice.

Jonbon won it in 2023 and 2024, was second to L'Eau Du Sud in 2025, and has now won it again. That makes him the only three-time winner, as his trainer's yard pointed out after the race.

Jonbon and Harry Cobden: the new jockey

This was the first time Harry Cobden had ridden Jonbon in a race. Cobden, Britain's champion jump jockey in 2023/24, spent a decade riding for trainer Paul Nicholls.

In January 2026, McManus named him as his number one rider in Britain and Ireland, starting in May. A retained jockey gets first call on an owner's horses, which is why he is now on Jonbon.

Before this, Nico de Boinville rode Jonbon in most of his big wins, including the 2023 and 2024 Shloer Chases. James Bowen was on board for the Clarence House Chase in January 2026.

After the race Cobden praised the way the horse jumped and said he enjoyed the ground. Henderson said the horse is exactly where the team wants him, while admitting that at his age he will not run away from rivals over two miles.

Nicky Henderson's Jonbon: the record so far

Henderson has trained him for all 29 of his races under rules, at Seven Barrows in Lambourn. Irish trainer Ellmarie Holden prepared him for that single point-to-point win, at Dromahane in County Cork in November 2020. The Shloer was his 21st win, and 12 of those came in Grade 1 races, the top level. Our guide to what a Grade 1 race is explains the ladder.

His big wins include:

• Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown in 2023 and 2024
• Clarence House Chase at Ascot in 2025 and 2026
• Ascot Chase in February 2026, over a longer trip of about 2 miles 5 furlongs
• Shloer Chase in 2023, 2024 and 2026

The one gap is the Cheltenham Festival in March. He has been second there four times: in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, the Arkle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Ryanair Chase.

His last six races

The horse who beat him at Sandown has his own profile here: Il Etait Temps.

What is a two-mile chaser?

A chase (short for steeplechase) is a jump race over fences, which are bigger and stiffer than hurdles. Horses usually start over hurdles, then spend a first season as novices over fences. Our novice chase explainer covers that step.

Two miles, about 3,200 metres, is the standard minimum distance for chases in Britain and Ireland. A few British courses, Sandown among them, have approval to run their "two-mile" chases over a measured trip slightly short of that. It is the sprint of jump racing.

A good two-mile chaser needs three things:

1. Speed. The pace is strong from the start and there is little time to recover from a mistake.
2. Fast, accurate jumping. A slow jump at this speed can cost several lengths.
3. Toughness. They jump about a dozen fences at close to full gallop.

Ground matters too. Soft, wet turf turns two miles into a stamina test, while good ground rewards speed. See our guide to track ratings and going for how that is described.

How the two-mile season fits together

Britain's top two-milers follow a well-worn path from November to March. Each race is a step toward the championship.

• Shloer Chase: the season opener. Recent big-race winners carry extra weight. Under the 2026 conditions, a Grade 1 chase win after September 30, 2025, cost 6 lb and a Grade 2 chase win 4 lb, with half penalties for wins in novice and beginners' chases. So it is a useful first run rather than a title decider.
• Tingle Creek: the first Grade 1 of the winter for open two-mile chasers (novices have their own, the Henry VIII Novices' Chase, earlier on the same card), over Sandown's fast, close-together fences.
• Clarence House: the mid-winter test at Ascot, at about 2 miles 1 furlong.
• Champion Chase: the title race at the Cheltenham Festival. Win it and you are the champion two-miler.

Some horses then go on to Aintree in April or Sandown's Celebration Chase on the final day of the season.

Jonbon Tingle Creek 2026: what to watch next

Henderson says the Tingle Creek at Sandown on Saturday, December 5, 2026, is next. That race is upcoming, and plans can change with ground and health.

Things to watch between now and then:

• Who turns up. Entries and final declarations in race week will show the opposition.
• The ground at Sandown. Gidleigh Park's withdrawal at Cheltenham shows how much it shapes these small fields.
• The distance question. Henderson is keeping him at two miles for now and will review later. He won over further last winter, so a step up later in the season is possible.
• Cobden's second ride. One race is a start, and a Grade 1 at Sandown asks more.

McManus calls him a horse who has stood the test of time. For more racing stories, browse Trends, and if the vocabulary is new, the glossary helps.