Irish raider aims to take Tingle Creek crown -'Irish eyes will be wanting him to win' There’s just one Irish raider heading to Sandown on Saturday afternoon and he’s trained by the master of Closutton, Willie Mullins from County Carlow. We assess his gelding’s chance in a Grade 1 that may be lacking in numbers but which certainly should provide major excitement. Tingle Creek trends under scrutiny You may be surprised to hear that Mullins has only won the Tingle Creek once in his illustrious career. That victory was back in 2016, when Ruby Walsh steered Un De Sceaux to victory. Trends followers in that case might be swerving the favourite for Saturday's feature and may be looking for value elsewhere, in the form of Il Etait Temps' main two rivals, L'Eau Du Sud and Jonbon. Dan Skelton's L'Eau Du Sud won a Grade 1 novice over this course and distance last December, but failed to back it up at the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals. Nonetheless, he was electric on his reappearance at Cheltenham when beating Jonbon by 15 lengths in the Shloer last month. It must be noted however that Jonbon was nowhere near his best and the winner was extremely fit for this time of year. It's no secret that Jonbon dislikes Cheltenham. He has won the last two renewals of the Tingle Creek and perhaps a return to this track can bring out the best in him. He also looked in need of the run last month and he's expected to get much closer this time around. Il Etait Temps heads fascinating three-way battle Irish eyes will be wanting Il Etait Temps to win! He might be small in stature but he has the heart of a lion and he won the Grade 1 Celebration Chase over course and distance at the end of last season. That was also his first run in over a year and he looked as good as ever on his return at Clonmel last month. We are in for a fascinating contest but there's no doubt that Il Etait Temps deserves to be at the head of the market.
