Il Est Francais heads the market for the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown, but L’Eau Du Sud’s rapid rise through the two-mile ranks means this year’s renewal looks highly competitive.
The Grade 1 contest over 1m7f on Saturday 6 December 2025 has attracted five runners and shapes as a key early-season pointer for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.
Tingle Creek’s Place In The Season
The Tingle Creek Chase is Britain’s first major Grade 1 over two miles for established chasers and has carried that status since 1994.
Run around Sandown’s demanding right-handed course, with its famous Railway fences, it has been won by stars such as Kauto Star, Sprinter Sacre, and Altior, and often identifies the leading Champion Chase contenders for the spring.
With £175,000 in prize money and a history of producing top-class winners, the race is a natural target for elite two-milers and a key date for trainers plotting their horses’ campaigns.
This year’s running brings together course specialists, improving second-season chasers, and Irish raiders.
Il Etait Temps leads a strong challenge from Willie Mullins’ yard, with proven Sandown form, while British hopes are headed by Jonbon and L’Eau Du Sud, the Shloer Chase winner who arrives in Esher on the back of a career-best performance at Cheltenham.
Il Etait Temps: The Clear Form Pick
Il Etait Temps, trained by Willie Mullins for Hollywood Racing and Barnane Stud, has developed into one of the most reliable top-level two-mile chasers in training.
The seven-year-old grey arrives off a bit of a stop–start campaign, with just one run between May 2024 and April 2025 before returning in the spring and again this autumn.
After winning the Grade 1 novice chase at Punchestown in May 2024, connections highlighted that he had been “plagued by a knee injury”, which kept him off the track for almost a year.
Willie Mullins and his team then adopted a cautious approach, effectively writing off much of the 2024–25 season and bringing him back only when fully recovered, which was at Clonmel on November 6th 2025.
He won that race in style and now heads to Sandown, which underlines how well conditions suit and suggests this race is a central objective on his route towards the Champion Chase in March.
L’Eau Du Sud: The Fast-improving Danger
L’Eau Du Sud, trained by Dan Skelton, has emerged as one of the season’s most progressive two-mile chasers and arrives at Sandown after a devastating win in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham.
In that Grade 2, he produced a powerful performance in testing conditions, travelling smoothly and pulling clear of Jonbon, who was attempting a hat-trick in the race.
The margin of victory and the way he finished suggested a major step forward from his novice campaign, leading bookmakers to cut his odds significantly for both the Champion Chase and the Tingle Creek.
L’Eau Du Sud already has top-level form at Sandown, having won the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at the track in December 2024, which confirmed his liking for the sharp, right-handed layout and emphasis on jumping rhythm.
Skelton has described the Shloer success as a clear career best and deliberately aimed him at this race as the logical next step against proven Grade 1 rivals.
If he settles behind the pace and jumps with the same fluency, L’Eau Du Sud looks capable of putting serious pressure on Il Etait Temps up the stiff Sandown hill.
Jonbon: Proven Class With Questions To Answer
Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon, a ten-time Grade 1 winner, brings star quality and a strong Sandown record, including back-to-back Tingle Creek victories.
However, recent form raises a few questions, with a below-par display behind L’Eau Du Sud in the Shloer Chase reflecting some sketchy jumping and perhaps the effects of a busy campaign last season.
Connections still hold him in very high regard at two miles, but he now faces both an in-form rival who has beaten him convincingly and an Irish challenger in Il Etait Temps who is rated at least his equal.
If Jonbon can return to the smooth, attacking style that defined his earlier Sandown wins, he remains a major player.
Much may depend on how the race unfolds tactically, and whether he can get into a rhythm over the Railway fences rather than having to respond to others’ moves.
Other Key Runners
The supporting cast adds depth and potential value.
Boothill and Libberty Hunter are smart handicappers trying their luck in open Grade 1 company, both needing career-best runs to land a blow.
Why Il Etait Temps Is Favourite
With only two races under his belt since May 2024, it may seem strange to see Il Etait Temps on such short odds considering L’Eau Du Sud is fresh off a high profile victory.
Part of the justification for favouritism is through a proven Grade 1 form, previous course-and-distance victory, and an all-round profile that suits Sandown’s demands.
The other is because he is trained by Willie Mullins, who rarely misses when choosing British targets at this level.
However, L’Eau Du Sud brings the most upward momentum in the field. His Shloer win marked him out as a genuine top-tier two-miler, and the combination of Sandown form, a confident stable, and a potent turn of foot makes him a realistic threat to the favourite.
Whether he can “catch” Il Etait Temps will likely hinge on race tempo: if the pace is strong and he can stalk the leaders before delivering a late challenge, the gap between them may be narrower than the market suggests.
As things stand, Il Etait Temps remains the one to beat, but L’Eau Du Sud looks the most likely horse to make him work for the Tingle Creek crown.
BETFRED
