Jonbon showed a different side to his character when running out a gritty winner of the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown on Saturday.

The two-mile Grade 1 was run in very testing conditions and Nicky Henderson’s seven-year-old was not seen to best effect but took his record to 12 wins from 14 career outings.

Only four went to post with Boothill a non-runner but Gary Moore’s Haddex Des Obeaux made sure there was no hanging about.

Nico de Boinville had Jonbon settled in second but when the runners went out down the back straight he was jumping so well he soon found himself upsides.

Edwardstone survived a bad blunder at one of the Railway Fences but did not lose much momentum and he soon got involved on the turn for home.

Briefly Jonbon looked like he may have a real fight on his hands but his class come to the fore and he was soon back on the bridle.

Having safely jumped the last fence Jonbon, sent off the 30-100 favourite, stayed on strongly to beat Edwardstone by two and three-quarter lengths.

“You have got to say it is always going to be tough in this ground and rightly we said hang on to him as long as possible today as that is the sort of ground where you can get caught out,” said Henderson having saddling his third winner in the Grade 1 event.

“This is a horse that likes to attack it, but it was essential to keep his powder a bit dry today. It was the plan to just hold on to him a bit longer than you might do. He is an attacker and you can really let him rip, but that is dangerous in these conditions.

“He’s jumping very well this year, but there is no reason why. He was a novice last year and when he was here at the back-end of last season he was taking on the very old professional chasers. He’s grown up now and has to be a senior and he’s doing that well.

“The way he moves, he is still a better horse on better ground because a classy horse can cope with everything.

“Do any of them really want it like that? It is miles better on the chase course than it is the hurdles course but there was never a worry about not running him compared to the other guys because the chase course is generally just very soft winter ground.

“There are only two options for him (on the way to the Champion Chase) and that is the Game Spirit (Newbury, February 10th) or the Clarence House (Ascot, January 20th) and I suspect he will have one run on the way.

“He’s growing up all the time and we had a gallop at Windsor believe it or not earlier on in the year and a little away day at Newbury and he got himself very geed up in those sort of preps. But by the time he got to Cheltenham the other day and here today he has travelled well in the horsebox and he’s settled in well. He’s not sweating anymore and he’s growing up on that score.”

Alan King said of Edwardstone: “I don’t think the mistake had much of an effect as he jumped well after that.

“Tom (Cannon, jockey) actually still thinks he is as good as ever. We have just got a superstar in front of us, and I couldn’t be happier with him really. I did expect him to get closer, but this wouldn’t really be his ground. I know he won a handicap hurdle at Market Rasen on heavy ground but that was off 130 or something.

“He has run a hell of a race and I’m very proud of him. He certainly doesn’t go to the King George, but I will have a chat with the owners.

“I might try and give him one run in the new year in January or February over two and a half miles and then decide whether we go for the Queen Mother or the Ryanair. That’s the one that is in my mind, the Ascot Chase. We will enjoy today then think. I want to try him over two and a half and try to avoid Jonbon.”