Cheltenham, November 14, 2025 — Dan Skelton's L'Eau du Sud produced a career-best performance to comprehensively defeat the hot favourite Jonbon in the Grade 2 Shloer Chase at Cheltenham, turning what many expected to be a historic hat-trick for the defending champion into something of an upset.

A Performance in the Storm

Racing in howling wind and rain as Storm Claudia battered Prestbury Park, the seven-year-old made light of the treacherous conditions to score by 15 lengths under Harry Skelton. The 100-30 shot never looked in danger once hitting the front, cruising clear of his rivals with an authority that belied the stamina-sapping ground underfoot.

The champion Jonbon, seeking to become the first horse to win the Shloer Chase three times, was made to look ordinary on this day, as jumping errors down the back straight proved costly. The 5-6 favourite, trained by Nicky Henderson, very gamely plugged on for second place, maintaining his record of never finishing outside the first two.

A Tactical Masterclass

Harry Skelton executed a flawless ride on L'Eau du Sud, setting a relentless gallop alongside pace-setters Matata and Jonbon from the outset. The tactics left nowhere to hide on a day when the elements made racing a true test of stamina and resolve.

Libberty Hunter, a potential danger from off the pace, was an early faller, while the veteran Edwardstone never featured. Coming down the hill, Skelton allowed himself a glance over his shoulder, but in the gathering gloom he was so far clear of Jonbon he may have struggled to see him.

The race also featured a moment of high drama at the final fence, where JJ Slevin performed an extraordinary recovery to stay aboard Matata after a bad mistake, ultimately finishing third despite riding with his feet out of the irons up the hill.

Redemption for Skelton

For trainer Dan Skelton, the victory represented redemption after what he acknowledged were tactical errors that affected L'Eau du Sud's performance in the Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Speaking after the race, Skelton admitted he wasn't proud of running the horse at Warwick in the Kingmaker before the Arkle, believing it took too much out of him.

"I'm not very proud of myself in the Arkle last season as I shouldn't have run him at Warwick, and I took too much out of him at Warwick and that is why he wasn't at his best in the Arkle," Skelton reflected. "I didn't want to say that at the time as I didn't want to be making an excuse."

The trainer was philosophical about how those spring defeats had ultimately benefited the horse. "Those defeats probably helped build him into a man so that he could do that today," he suggested. "We will not look at the past, we will look forward now and I'm really excited to have a good two miler."

Road to the Top

The Shloer Chase marked L'Eau du Sud's return to action as a seven-year-old, with the grey gelding showing marked improvement from his novice campaign. That campaign had shown considerable promise, with the horse going unbeaten in four starts over fences, including wins in the Arkle Trial at Cheltenham and the Henry VIII Novices' Chase at Sandown, plus a Grade 1 victory.

However, his novice season ended in disappointment at the Cheltenham Festival, where he finished second to Jango Baie in the Arkle Chase after briefly leading at the final fence, and then third in the Maghull Novices' Chase at Aintree. The summer break appears to have transformed him into a more mature, complete chaser capable of competing at the highest level.

Future Plans

L'Eau du Sud will now head to the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown in December, with Skelton considering then going straight to the Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March based on lessons learned from last season. 

"He'll go to the Tingle Creek and then, based on what I got wrong last year, it might have to be straight to the Champion Chase," Skelton said. "I wouldn't leave the door completely shut on Ascot [Clarence House Chase] though."

Following the victory, L'Eau du Sud was cut to 16-1 from 33-1 for the Champion Chase, with bookmakers forced to reassess the two-mile chase division after such an emphatic performance. The winner is also a general 10-1 chance for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Festival.

Jonbon's Setback

For Jonbon, the defeat raises questions about his form and future, particularly given his struggles at Cheltenham. Nicky Henderson noted that the heavy ground didn't suit his horse's flamboyant jumping style and hoped for better conditions at Sandown's Tingle Creek.

"His jumping isn't as flamboyant in this ground as on really good ground, but I'm sure it isn't going to be miles better in three weeks," Henderson said. "We've got this run under his belt, and that's what we had to do. We didn't really want to do it in this ground, but we had to do it in order to get to Sandown."

Henderson expects to see improvement when Jonbon returns to Sandown for the Tingle Creek with this run under his belt, hoping to gain revenge on the winner on a track where his charge has a perfect record.

A Victory Watched from Afar

The 2025 Shloer Chase will be remembered as the day L'Eau du Sud announced himself as a serious contender at the top level of National Hunt racing, transforming from a promising novice who fell short in the spring into a genuine force in the two-mile chase division.

As the rain lashed down on Cheltenham, it was Dan Skelton's team who emerged triumphant, with connections celebrating from as far afield as Bahrain, where owners Ged Mason and former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson watched in the sweltering heat of Manama ahead of the Bahrain International Trophy.

With the Tingle Creek on the horizon and Champion Chase dreams very much alive, L'Eau du Sud has well and truly arrived as a major player in jump racing's most competitive division, while Jonbon's quest for Cheltenham Festival glory faces yet another setback at the track where he has struggled throughout his career.