The relief was palpable.
Moments after Nico de Boinville crossed the line aboard a resurgent Jonbon in the highlight of Ladies Day, the Grade One My Pension Expert Melling Chase, weighing room colleague Harry Skelton pulled alongside on a weary Protektorat.
The pair shared a handshake and then an embrace.
It was more than just a congratulatory acknowledgement, it was two brothers sharing a ‘but for the grace of God moment’.
As Skelton is all too aware, twenty four hours can be a long time in horse racing, not least a jockey’s life.
After Constitution Hill crashed out of the Aintree Hurdle on day one, falling in his second successive Grade 1 examination after a similar departure at Cheltenham, de Boinville was inconsolable.
Fast forward to day two and the slate, not quite wiped clean, was ready for Jonbon’s name to again be carved upon it if he could see off three rivals in the day’s feature and land a 10th Grade 1 triumph.
In all honesty, there was very little danger as the JP McManus-owned nine-year-old made all to see off Protektorat by three-and-a-quarter-lengths with his closest rival in the market, El Fabiolo (5-2), having fallen at the 11th fence.
Having landed last year’s renewal from the same runner-up, it was his fourth consecutive success at the Randox Grand National Festival, having won the Top Novices’ Hurdle in 2022 and Maghull Novices’ Hurdle in 2023.
The victory did much to erase a painful Champion Chase defeat for Jonbon with trainer Nicky Henderson paying rich tribute to horse and jockey.
He said: “You’ve got to admire two things there - the horse is amazing when he’s doing that, and Nico. He’s been very brave, because it’s been a tough little session, and to go out and ride him like that, that’s a guy who had no fears.
“They went some clip - I don’t know what the time was, but it must have been quick. Whether he’s short or long (at his fences) - he’s very clever when he dances, isn’t he? To be able to do that - when he’s long it’s great, and when he’s short, he’s just very quick and in and out.
BACK-TO-BACK! 🏆🏆
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) April 4, 2025
Jonbon wins the My Pension Expert Melling Chase 🥇#ITVRacing | @sevenbarrows | @NdeBoinville pic.twitter.com/BMx8fAaHUX
“It just went all wrong at Cheltenham, and it was proved today, he just loves doing that. That’s what he does best. At Cheltenham the start went wrong, and he was on the back foot the whole way. He loves his own space. It was unfortunate, the tape went straight across his face and he went backwards.
“That was some gallop. Not many horses can jump that well that fast. We’ll certainly think about going to Sandown again.”
Henderson reiterated that the season may not be over for his star hurdler: “Constitution Hill is fine this morning, he’s back home at Seven Barrows in his box, and he trotted up sound, not a bother on him. Our vets and the physios have been all over him. Our intention is take him to Punchestown if we can; we’ll see how he is. That’s the plan at the moment.”
For his part, de Boinville was quick to heap praise on the Seven Barrows collective: “There was a lot riding on that and Jonbon gets us out of trouble again. You would have said it would be a tough week for us, but all credit to the staff and particularly to the governor and ‘JP’ and his team.
“They kept the faith in us. We had to pick ourselves up again after yesterday, but luckily I’ve got really nice horses to ride like Jonbon, and he’s an absolute superstar.
“He was a very different horse to the one I rode at Cheltenham. He really enjoyed it out there and you could see that when he’s on song he loves his jumping and can come up from anywhere. It’s a tough place to be but you just have to roll with the punches and pick yourself up.”
El Fabiolo wasn’t the only high profile Mullins chaser to trip up, with Dancing City crashing out of the opening Mildmay Novices’ Chase when travelling strongly, leaving the way clear for the Paul Nicholls-trained Caldwell Potter to supplement his Cheltenham win with a Grade 1 success in the hands of Harry Cobden.
Mullins wouldn’t be denied for long though as Salvator Mundo ran out an imperious winner of the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle, while one-time Champion Chase runner-up Gentleman De Mee captured the Topham Chase over the National fences under an inspired ride from Mark Walsh.
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