Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon Odds On Favourite For The 2026 Ascot Chase – Can He Win It?
The 2026 Ascot Chase may only have six runners this year, but it looks like a fascinating tactical battle headed by Jonbon, who is an odds‑on favourite to add yet another Grade 1 to his glittering record.
Run over 2m5f at Ascot on Saturday, February 14, it also serves as a key pointer to Cheltenham, with several of these holding Festival entries over similar trips.
First run in 1995 as the Comet Chase, the Ascot Chase has quickly developed into one of the most important mid‑season Grade 1s in the British National Hunt calendar.
It is open to horses aged five and over, run over about 2m5f with 17 fences to be jumped, and has been staged on a Saturday since 1999, giving it a prime TV slot and strong influence on the Festival markets.
The race has been won by some outstanding chasers, including Cue Card, who landed it twice, and Riverside Theatre, who completed the Ascot‑Ryanair double for Nicky Henderson.
In recent years, it has become a recognised trial for the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham, which is also run over 2m5f and regarded as the intermediate‑trip championship between the Champion Chase and the Gold Cup.
Jonbon The Star Attraction
Jonbon turns up at Ascot as one of the standard‑bearers for British chasing and the deep class act in this small field.
A multiple Grade 1 winner over fences, he has already captured races such as the Tingle Creek, the Celebration Chase, and the Melling Chase, underlining both his raw speed and his ability to stay beyond the minimum trip.
Rated in the mid‑160s and still only in his prime, he has long been viewed as one of Nicky Henderson’s most reliable sources of top‑level success.
Last season Jonbon produced a flawless campaign, winning the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham, the Tingle Creek at Sandown, and the Clarence House at Ascot, where he defeated dual Champion Chase hero Energumene in emphatic style.
Connections have hinted that stepping up in trip has made Jonbon a more rounded, relaxed performer, and the 2m5f at Ascot looks tailor‑made now that he settles better and jumps with such efficiency.
From a tactical perspective, he can either dictate or sit just off the pace, and in a six‑runner field, his high cruising speed and turn of foot could prove decisive if the race turns into a steadily‑run sprint from three out.
Rivals in the 2026 Ascot Chase
Pic D’orhy is the clear second favourite and the most obvious threat to Jonbon, having established a superb record at Ascot and over this trip.
A three‑time Grade 1 winner for Paul Nicholls, he took this race in 2024 and 2025 and returns seeking a remarkable third Ascot Chase success, a feat that would underline his status as a course‑and‑distance specialist.
He is a bold‑jumping, front‑running type who often attacks from an early stage, and if Harry Cobden can get him into a smooth rhythm on the lead, he could at least test Jonbon’s jumping and stamina from a long way out.
The likely scenario is Pic D’orhy forcing the pace, Jonbon tracking him, and the pair turning for home in a duel that may decide not just this race but the pecking order for Cheltenham’s intermediate events.
Edwardstone adds further depth as a former top‑class two‑mile chaser now trying to reinvent himself over a longer trip.
Alan King’s charge has Grade 1 form in the bank, including an Arkle win, and he bounced back to something like his best with a smooth success earlier in the winter, suggesting he retains plenty of ability.
If he relaxes over 2m5f and the front two overdo things, he is capable of picking up late and grabbing a place, or even better if one of the big guns misfires.
Blow Your Wad, Heltenham and Classic Maestro are big prices, but their presence ensures the race should be run at a fair gallop and offers each‑way players some long‑shot options for the minor money.
Heltenham, for example, has solid handicap form and experience over this sort of trip but has fallen in both of his last two runs.
Blow Your Wad has hinted at promise in graded company even if this demands a huge step up.
Classic Maestro looks up against it on the figures, but his inclusion gives connections a shot at valuable black type if he can sneak into the frame in a small field.
Nicky Henderson and Cheltenham Targets
The Ascot Chase has been a happy hunting ground for Nicky Henderson, who used it with Riverside Theatre en route to Ryanair glory and has long favoured this route for high‑class two‑and‑a‑half‑mile types.
Henderson’s Seven Barrows yard endured a difficult 2024 Festival, even pulling Jonbon out of the Champion Chase over concerns about stable form, but the trainer has since spoken of his star chaser as the “finished article” after a rejuvenated campaign.
For Jonbon, Ascot sits at the crossroads between remaining a two‑mile specialist or fully embracing the intermediate trip in March.
A dominant win here would strengthen the case for a tilt at the Ryanair Chase, where Henderson has previous, though he also retains the raw pace for the Queen Mother Champion Chase if connections prefer to stay at the minimum trip.
Whatever the final Cheltenham target, Henderson will view the Ascot Chase as both a valuable prize in its own right and a crucial piece of Festival prep, allowing Jonbon a searching test without the mayhem of a big‑field handicap or championship race.
Given the yard’s past reliance on Grade 1 stepping stones like this, expect a professional, “get‑the-job‑done” performance rather than anything too flamboyant.
BETFRED
