Il Etait Temps stuns Jonbon with Sandown Celebration

Il Etait Temps stunned Jonbon to run out an easy winner of the bet365 Celebration Chase at Sandown.

Off the track for almost a year, the seven-year-old breezed to victory under Danny Mullins.

The form was in the book, when he was last seen he beat Gaelic Warrior at the Punchestown Festival having also won at Aintree, but the fact he had missed the whole of the season saw him go off a 9-2 chance.

Ridden by Danny Mullins, he pinged every fence and appeared on the bridle at the Pond Fence.

Jonbon, who had shifted marginally right at some of his fences but in the main jumped well, had no excuses as Il Etait Temps breezed by on his way to a five-and-a-half-length win to hand Jonbon his first defeat away from the Cheltenham Festival. The winner’s stablemate Energumene was third.

Willie Mullins said: “I didn’t expect that and I was hoping both him and Energumene would finish, pick up some place money and both be sound. But to do what he did, I couldn’t believe it there in the stands and that has to be one of the moments of the whole year I think, for him to come out and do what he did.

“He looks top class and that’s his fifth Grade One I think. He’s not a big, chasing type and to put him against Jonbon it looked like father and son, but he can jump and he’s athletic and stays and he does everything.”

On the near season-long absence, Mullins added: “He had a little knee problem and was supposed to be back at Christmas and then Easter and every time we got close it went wrong.

“We said we’d put him by for Punchestown but then we needed him for today and thank god we did, but he has been working very well at home.”

Nicky Henderson said of Jonbon: “He’s run well and he’s jumped and travelled and done everything right.

“He’s danced every dance this season and unfortunately Cheltenham didn’t work. He had his hardest race there in finishing second, trying to get into the race and that flattened him enough.

“Aintree was great and we are all starting to think that extra half-mile might help him. He’s a very good two-miler but we’ll be having a chat about it.

“It’s tempting to go Shloer, Tingle Creek and then have a look. But I think we’re all thinking that extra half-mile – and dare I say plus – might just help him out. There’s one way to find out and that’s to try him, but we’ll see.

“He’ll go back to Martinstown (Stud) and have a lovely summer of champagne and caviar and then we’ll have a chat and work it out.”

Connections of third-placed Energumene felt the ground was too quick for him to play a significant role but there are no plans to retire the dual Champion Chase winner.