After Jonbon sparkled in the Tingle Creek and Liverpool grabbed another comeback win, I reflect on the weekend’s talking points from the world of sport.
1. Hendo hokey cokey
He puts his runners in, he pulls his runners out…you know the rest.
That early Christmas present that was Constitution Hill versus Shishkin never materialised. Did anyone ever really believe it was happening? The market blinked first with Constitution drifting on Friday, despite being declared.
Obviously, the welfare of the horse must come first and if Henderson believes an outing in heavy ground at Sandown would cause significant damage to his charges, he has every right to protect them. That said, the speed with which Constitution Hill, Shishkin and Willmount were withdrawn on Saturday morning, suggested there was never much appetite to run them anyway.
The days of Kauto Star running every month in the 2006 season are long gone. But is Henderson being overly risk averse? When asked about Willmount’s options following his withdrawal, he mooted a trip to Aintree on Boxing Day before immediately pouring cold water on that notion by suggesting the logistics would be too complicated.
Word on the street is that Shishkin jumped very well on a racecourse gallop round Kempton — which is encouraging for those who are still planning on siding with him in the King George. But as a racing fan, I can’t help but feel a little short-changed.
I want (which doesn’t always get) to see these superstars week in week out. Weather, welfare and scheduling means that isn’t always possible. But is Nicky Henderson edging into the sort of territory where he only justifies running horses in the second week of March? If so, that would be a crying shame.
Shishkin to win the King George @ 7/1
2. Parisian dream
In the same city where the dream came to an end for England in the World Cup a little under two months ago, after a stunning comeback from the Springboks, Harlequins pulled off a comeback of their own to defeat Racing 92 in their own back yard.
It was a statement performance from Quins who bounced back impressively after conceding an early try in both halves. Their season appears to have burst into life since that scintillating win over Sale and again it was Marcus Smith delivering on the biggest stage, scoring a sublime try to level things up before knocking in an equally outrageous drop goal to make it 17-7 to Quins.
Early in the second half Racing wrestled control with two quickfire tries. The game appeared to be getting away from the Londoners, but they refused to let their heads drop and held on for a gutsy 31-28 win that suggested they may a surprise package in this season’s competition.
Harlequins to win the Champions Cup @ 22/1
3. Stuck in reverse
When Manchester United faced Chelsea at Old Trafford last week a Chelsea fan wistfully remarked to me: “remember when this game used to mean something?”
While Man United’s struggles have been longer term than Chelsea’s — this weekend marking the ten-year anniversary of David Moyes’ infamous post-match interview calling for improvement in all areas —the fact remains, in recent times, both teams have spent vast sums of money, and both seem to be stuck in a cycle of infinite regression.
Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Erik Ten Hag can’t all be wrong. Whether it’s the Glazers (as Gary Neville so emphatically would argue) or the players — who were on the back pages last week briefing against their manager yet again — it is clear there is something rotten within the deepest tissue of Manchester United. Likewise at Chelsea, in the absence of Abramovich’s ruthless leadership, confusion has blossomed in the void. Buy, buy, buy seems be the order of the day and still Chelsea have more signings in 2023 than they do Premier League wins
It has been a humbling season so far for these two gladiators of the Premier League. Manchester United have squandered 72 million pounds on a striker who cannot find the back of the net, while Chelsea spent 435 million in the summer window on precisely what we remain in the dark. Will Erik Ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino survive to see 2024, who knows?
Contrast these giants’ struggles with the stirring of a Claret and Blue one in Birmingham. Aston Villa, well-managed, great recruitment and great support are showing with every passing week that aimless spending will never be the answer, and, in Ollie Watkins, they have a man who sums up the priceless worth of a Premier League goal.
Aston Villa to finish in the top four @ 11/10
4. Second season bounce?
With the rest of the Seven Barrows squadron swiftly withdrawn as the rain hammered down on Saturday morning, Jonbon’s participation in the Tingle Creek came as almost an afterthought.
But he jumped around Sandown in bottomless ground drama-free and earned a career best rating in the process. Despite all that he ended the weekend at 5/2 for the Champion Chase — longer than the 9/4 available on Friday.
So, when will we see the showdown with El Fabiolo? Willie Mullins seems keen to head to Ascot in January for the Clarence House, but it seems unlikely Nicky Henderson will risk putting one of his best festival chances into such a competitive contest — especially after what happened to Shishkin after facing Energumene in January 2022.
El Fabiolo was well on top when these two last met, but there is the sense that Jonbon is a maturing horse. There remains the issue of pace. El Fabiolo has plenty of it – even if his jumping is a little less surefooted than his English contemporary. Can Jonbon make his jumping count over the two mile trip? There are questions aplenty, but it is sure to be a barnstorming clash whenever these two do come together and, on the prices available for El Fabiolo, I’d be tempted to side with Jonbon.
Jonbon to win the Champion Chase @ 5/2
5. The inevitables
There have been plenty of moments in the last seven days when it looked like Liverpool might not win a football match.
When Bobby Decordova-Reid rose above Kostas Tsimikas to make it 3-2 to Fulham with ten minutes to play at Anfield, when the ball dropped out of the sky and onto James McAtee’s left boot at Bramall Lane, and finally when Jean-Phillipe Mateta slotted past Alisson in the 57th minute at Selhurst Park as Roy Hodgson’s men looked to be on their way to a famous victory over his former employers.
Except Liverpool won all three of these football matches. Trent Alexander-Arnold belted one into the Kop, Van Dijk unerringly volleyed into the bottom corner and Harvey Elliott smashed it past the debutant Remi Matthews. Three games in which Liverpool did not play well, but three games they won, from three different sources.
Are the mentality monsters back? Elliott’s goal was the 17th injury-time winner in the Klopp era, a goal that saw the Liverpool manager surpass Sir Alex Ferguson’s tally of 16 across 26 seasons in the Old Trafford hotseat. The Reds have won more points (18) from losing positions than any other team in the division. But beyond that grit — they have not played well. The team has stuttered and grinded its way to the top of the table and it has done so, not through perfect structure or tactical genius, but by finding solutions to win football games.
Liverpool of previous vintages had an established blueprint — from front to back there was very little variation in how they played week to week. 4, 3, 3 ‚ get it out wide, full-backs whipping in crosses and a workmanlike midfield. Firmino is gone, Mane is gone, Henderson, Milner, Fabinho, gone. This is a new Liverpool. A team in its adolescence that has not yet fully established its identity. But that has been a blessing.
It is an enterprising group of footballers, full of open-minded individuals with different skill sets. Typified by the cameos of Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott who were the super-subs on this occasion, but who have also been the ones taken off and replaced by game-changing substitutions. This is not a perfect Liverpool and whoever wins this title, as demonstrated by Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa, will not be a perfect team.
Liverpool to win the Premier League @ 3/1
Lola Katz Roberts is a Content Executive at Fitzdares.
