Jonbon showed a different side to his character when running out a gritty winner of the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown.
The two-mile Grade One was run in very testing conditions and Nicky Henderson's seven-year-old was not seen to best effect but took his record to 12 wins from 14 career outings.
Only four went to post with Boothill a non-runner but Gary Moore’s Haddex Des Obeaux made sure there was no hanging about.
Nico de Boinville had Jonbon settled in second but when the runners went out down the back straight he was jumping so well he soon found himself upsides.
Edwardstone survived a bad blunder at one of the Railway Fences but did not lose much momentum and he soon got involved on the turn for home.
Briefly Jonbon looked like he may have a real fight on his hands but his class come to the fore and he was soon back on the bridle.
Having safely jumped the last fence Jonbon, sent off the 30-100 favourite, stayed on strongly to beat Edwardstone by two and three-quarter lengths.
A FIRST Grade 1 win for David Noonan!
— Sandown Park (@Sandownpark) December 9, 2023
A big day for the man in the saddle as LE PATRON takes the @BetfairRacing Henry VIII Chase 😮 pic.twitter.com/xVTE8tfKqQ
Le Patron provided Cork jockey David Noonan with a first Grade One success in the Betfair Henry VIII Novices' Chase.
Sent off the 16-1 outsider of the six-runner field, Gary Moore’s had won two minor handicaps prior to stepping into Grade One company.
He jumped like an old hand, especially when it mattered most in the straight, while the favourite JPR One blundered two out and saw his chance disappear.
Colonel Harry stayed on strongly in the straight having been outpaced and briefly looked as if he could make a race of it, however, he could only close to within a length and a quarter.
Noonan said: "It will take a while to sink in and I’m very lucky to have the opportunity to ride a horse of that quality and to go and do it is amazing.
"They were quietly confident beforehand and thought he would run a big race, but whether they thought he would do that or not I don’t know. I’m glad it all worked out.
"Day in, day out you are trucking around to come to these big days and it is brilliant. To have a horse who is competitive and can do the job is even better. Hopefully it is a bit of good advertising."
It is the second time Moore has saddled the winner of this event after the success of Ar Mad in 2015 and the handler was delighted to secure another big race victory at his favourite racecourse.
He said: "It was an ambitious shout, but when a horse jumps as he does and goes in soft ground as he does, we had to give it a try – especially the way the races are cutting up at the present time.
"It didn’t really cut up today, but full credit to Jamie (Moore) who has done all the donkey work on him and David has given him a lovely ride today.
"Liz (Avery, owner) is an elderly lady and she bought this horse over a year ago and we told her he’s a chaser, he’s not a two-mile hurdler. That’s why he ended up with the mark he had and thank god he has proven us right. Not often does that happen, but it has today."
On Noonan, he added: "The boys ride will the majority, but I think David is a lovely rider and very underused and very underrated. All the time I need to use him, I will use him.
"He’s been in and schooled him in the week and that’s the kind of person he is, I’m not sure where he lives but he doesn’t live round the corner. He’s had to come up and school this horse especially."
This time Not So Sleepy is the ONLY winner! 🙌
— Sandown Park (@Sandownpark) December 9, 2023
After dead-heating in the 2021 @Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle he roars home to win the 2023 edition 🔥 pic.twitter.com/5wWAJCiJBb
Not So Sleepy stayed on best of all to win the rescheduled Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle.
Saved from Newcastle's abandoned card last weekend, the race lost plenty of its lustre when Nicky Henderson withdrew the current champion hurdler Constitution Hill and stablemate Shishkin.
That meant just four went to post, with Goshen and You Wear It Well setting a strong enough gallop in the conditions.
By the second last those two had done their running while Not So Sleepy, who turns 12 in a few weeks, was still on the bridle under Sean Bowen.
Love Envoi, who had not really been travelling throughout, soon appeared on the scene but approaching the last Not So Sleepy, who dead-heated in the race with Epatante in 2021, quickened eight lengths clear.
It was a noteworthy success for Bowen, who also holds a sizeable lead in the race to become champion jockey.
"You can see why Nicky didn't want to turn up," quipped a delighted Morrison. "That was a Grade One, those mares were Grade One mares, Goshen should have won a Grade One and he has dead-heated in a Grade One. Whenever conditions are right he is a Grade One horse.
"I’m thrilled, this is the race we have aimed for since Newbury and it is a great relief that we are here.
"Coming to the second last I thought we had it won and then I thought we were beat. But Sean said as soon as they came to him he just picked up again. He did what he did at Newbury and the reason he can keep going is you just don’t know how good he is."
Booster Bob could have an exciting future having stayed on strongly in testing ground to claim the Betfair Claremont Novices' Hurdle.
Sent off the 5-6 favourite for the Listed event, Olly Murphy’s five-year-old had previously relished testing conditions when claiming a Uttoxeter novice event by 18-lengths.
However, even he struggled to get into a rhythm in the deep ground at the Esher track and relied on his class to overhaul Helnwein once strenuously ridden after the last by Sean Bowen.
Lucy Wadham’s Pretending made amends for a fall when going well at Fakenham recently when finally getting her head in front in the Betfair Supports Racing With Pride Mares’ Handicap Hurdle, while Tom Lacey’s Operation Manna justified 5-2 favouritism to bring up a hat-trick in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle.
