Energumene on course for clash with Jonbon at Ascot

Connections of Energumene "will not hide" from an all-star clash with Jonbon at Ascot later this month, with the BetMGM Clarence House Chase likely to be next for the dual Champion Chase hero.

Having taken advantage of a misfiring Shishkin when romping to his first Champion Chase in 2022, Willie Mullins' only winner of the Cheltenham Festival’s day-two feature returned in peak condition to defend his crown a year later, demolishing the opposition, with the reigning champion chaser Captain Guinness 10 lengths adrift in second.

Injury denied him the chance to become just the second horse to win three Champion Chases, as he spent the whole of the 2023-24 campaign on the sidelines. But he made a thrilling return from 593 days off when reappearing in his traditional starting point, Cork’s Hilly Way Chase, where it looked like he had got the better of subsequent King George hero Banbridge when he unseated at the last.

Energumene has previously followed a pre-Christmas outing at Cork with a Cheltenham tune-up in the Clarence House and usual service is set to be resumed on 18 January.

Owned by Brighton & Hove Albion supremo Tony Bloom, few can forget Energumene’s titanic showdown with the aforementioned Shishkin in the Grade One event three years ago, with the duo separated by just a length following a battle for supremacy up the Ascot straight.

The 11-year-old now appears set to meet another standout performer from Nicky Henderson’s Seven Barrows string, with the race nominated as Jonbon’s next port of call en route to the Champion Chase – and the Energumene team are keen to take up the challenge, providing conditions are suitable.

"I spoke to Willie just before the Christmas period and he said he was fine and came out of the Hilly