Talking Horses: Shishkin v Energumene is a duel to relish

“Not too many,” Paul Townend said with a broad smile here on Friday when asked if he had spotted any weaknesses in Shishkin ahead of his long-awaited first meeting with Energumene in Saturday’s Clarence House Chase at Ascot. “I just see all the 1s alongside his name, so I’ll do a bit of homework tonight, ride the race another 20 times and hopefully we’re still finishing in front.”

Nico de Boinville, Shishkin’s rider, had earlier used words like “fantastic” and “electric” to describe Energumene. If the race was a title fight in Vegas – and there are certainly some similarities – the promoter would be tearing his hair out at the lack of trash talk to shift the last few tickets.

Not, of course, that there is any need for that here, as Saturday’s race is the most compelling head-to-head over jumps since Altior squared off against Cyrname, also at Ascot, in November 2019. Four runners are due to go to post for the Grade One contest, including First Flow, who won it 12 months ago, but for practical purposes, it is a match race between two potential superstars of the sport and perhaps the start of one of the great rivalries too.

Some match races have a champion-and-contender dynamic, as a battle-hardened veteran tries to keep the ageing process at bay. Victory for the younger runner tends to hasten the runner-up towards retirement.

But not this one: Shiskin and Energumene were foaled just over two months apart, in April and June 2014 respectively, and arrive at Ascot with near-identical profiles. Neither horse has tasted defeat over fences, both are in their second season as chasers and both are proven winners at Grade One level. All being well, this will be the first meeting of several, starting with a rematch at Cheltenham in