Jonbon Dominates the Shloer Chase at a Frosty Cheltenham

Jonbon won the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham on Friday 13 November 2026, leading from the start and winning by two-and-a-quarter lengths. The race is a steeplechase, a contest over fences, and it was his third win in it across the last four seasons.

He started at odds of 1-2. In British racing, that means a £2 bet would return a £1 profit, so the market had him as a clear favourite. He ran like one. Guardian reporting noted that he has never finished outside the first two in 29 starts under National Hunt rules, the code of jump racing in Britain and Ireland.

The field was smaller than expected. Gidleigh Park, who had been second favourite that morning, was ruled out a couple of hours before the off. Trainers pulled him out over concerns about the drying ground. That left Jonbon with only two rivals.

The going, a measure of how soft the ground is, had moved during the day. Cheltenham's official going changed from good, good-to-soft in places to good in the afternoon. The course had also been hit by an unexpected overnight frost before racing began. Horses were slipping on the bend into the home straight.

The card had a rough start for other reasons too. Nine horses were non-runners across the day, including two fancied runners for a Listed novice chase, a race just below the top level for young jumpers. In the Grade Two Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle, runners were forced to bypass several hurdles because low sun made the flights hard to see. Hurdles are the lower obstacles in a hurdle race, and a horse that skips one loses ground.

Jonbon's record at the Cheltenham Festival, the sport's biggest meeting, is less kind. He has finished runner-up in all four of his starts there in March. Saturday's win is the first time he has stood on top of the podium at the track in this season's cycle, and it leaves the question of March open again.

He will be 11 when next year's Festival takes place. Horses of his age are still racing at the top level, but every season brings its own risks, and the ground will be one of them. For the people who look after him at the yard, the work is the same whatever the weather: early starts, careful feeding and a close eye on how he moves on the gallops.

For anyone new to the sport, the day shows how much racing depends on conditions. A frost, a shift in the going, or low sun can change a card in hours. Owners, trainers and the officials who run the track make those calls before a single runner heads for the start.