Energumene (6-5 favourite) flew home to land a second successive in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase on the second day of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival.
The nine-year-old, who gave his trainer a first ever victory in the two-mile Grade One feature 12 months ago, bounced back from a disappointing defeat in the Clarence House Chase, which had been rerouted to Cheltenham from Ascot, at the end of January. But in the softer conditions he enjoys, the real Energumene showed up this time at Prestbury Park.
Under Paul Townend, he was always near the head of affairs with Editeur Du Gete – the surprise winner of the Clarence House. And coming the final couple of fences, Energumene was going supremely well and eased into the lead. He put daylight between himself and his rivals and came home a superb 10-length winner from Henry De Bromhead's Captain Guinness (12-1), under Rachael Blackmore. Greaneteen was a further 24 lengths back in third, with Editeur Du Gete fading into fourth and Energumene's main market rival, last year's Arkle Chase hero Edwardstone, was never travelling and finished a distant fifth.
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Energumene is the 14th dual winner of the Champion Chase and the first since Altior in 20018 and 2019. Badsworth Boy (1983, 1984 and 1985) is the only horse the race three times and Mullins is already eyeing the record.
The Irish champion trainer said: "Paul had a very positive frame of mind going out. He said he was going to jump off up there. He thought everyone was going to be very tight and he wanted to be away fast and that is the way the race worked out. He had it right and the horse loved the ground and jumping. He was just brilliant on the day and Paul was just brilliant on him. I was way more confident coming into this year’s race as we hadn’t got Shishkin to take on and we thought if there was any improvement from the Clarence House that with hopefully with a clear round he would win.
“Paul came home from the Clarence House and said they won’t beat us again. The horse’s work and jumping and everything has been brilliant. We were just fingers crossed for a clear round. It did (exceed my expectations how he did it). I was hoping to win but the way he did it was something else. It (did help coming here last times) as he just propped at the first one and that just upset him. This time around we schooled him hugely over white fences and it didn’t worry him today.
“We tried to make him a two and a half mile chaser but his jumping was so slick we decided to come back to two miles with him. It looks like he has improved from last year. What can I say, hopefully he will hold that form until next year. I’ll be praying for this sort of weather this time next year. The whole game-plan will be to work back from this next year.”
Owned by Brighton & Hove Albion supremo Tony Bloom, Energumene was trainer Mullins 92nd Cheltenham Festival winner, as the County Carlow handler closes in on a barely believable century of successes.
Bloom said: “He absolutely has done us proud again. He ran a magnificent race and he totally deserved to win. We are so fortunate to have such an amazing horse. He certainly liked a bit of rain today and last year but he is just an unbelievable horse. He didn’t run to his best in the Clarence House Chase but he has really shown his class today. I think maybe a bit of getting used to them (white fences) after one go over them and he was maybe not at his best a couple of months ago but he was certainly at his best today. That would be nice (if we could win the Champion Chase and FA Cup) but we will focus on Crystal Palace tonight and I will be there later on and after that we will concentrate on the Grimsby Town game but the FA Cup is in sight and we are really looking forward to that. I did make it to the Brighton game after being here last year but I missed the first 20 minutes!
“We were confident going in. He is a great horse. He just underperformed in the Clarence House but showed his class today. My heart rate didn’t go above 80! He looked the winner the whole way through. We were delighted with how he ran today. Last year was the first Cheltenham Festival race he won and that was huge and things fell into place for his last year with Shishkin pulling up early but today they were all on their feet and he just bolted home. He is a brilliant horse. I didn’t have any pressure. It was all on Energumene and he takes all the pressure unbelievably well. Willie is an unbelievable trainer and we love having him as part of our team. He just gets the horses ready for the Cheltenham Festival like no other. There is no score prediction for tonight. I'm simply hoping for a home win.”
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A delighted winning jockey Townend said: "That was easy, to be honest. I got in a lovely rhythm on him, after the first two fences he was taking them on, he was quick at them, and it was simple – it was just a matter of keeping him in a rhythm after that.
“He allowed me to ride him more forward [than in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot] because he took on his fences better today. Looser ground probably helped as well and played a factor in it, but he was just more forward. He felt a different horse today. “He had a little reach at the fence three out, I think it was – those championship two-milers, they are supposed to be running like that, though. It was a dream ride and I was able to take it all in coming up the straight, which doesn’t usually happen in those championship races.”
Asked to compare yesterday’s Arkle Chase winner El Fabiolo and Energumene, Townend said: “I’m not going to. I’m just going to enjoy the Champion Chaser at this moment in time.”
De Bromhead, trainer of runner-up Captain Guinness, said: “I’m absolutely delighted. We came here hoping we’d hit the frame and we have. It was a brilliant run and he jumped great and the winner was just too good for us. The winner was so impressive but I’m delighted for the Landy family (Declan Landy, owner), they’re all here so they’ve had a great day out. Rachael just said he was deadly and did everything right for her. We were hoping to get place and we’ve done that. We’re really happy.”
