Jonbon and Energumene are on course to meet in what Nicky Henderson anticipates will be a “big battle” for the BetMGM Clarence House Chase crown at Ascot on Saturday.

Henderson’s Jonbon is looking to cement his position at the head of the betting for the Champion Chase at Cheltenham by adding to his already impressive haul of Grade 1 victories.

In 19 career starts for the Seven Barrows team he has won 16, with his only defeats coming against Constitution Hill in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, El Fabiolo in the Arkle and Elixir De Nutz in this race when it was rearranged for Cheltenham last season, when he almost fell on more than one occasion.

It will be the first meeting between Jonbon and the Willie Mullins-trained Energumene, who won the Champion Chase in both 2022 and 2023 but was sidelined for the entirety of last season before making a winning return at Cork last month.

Henderson and Mullins are treading familiar ground in their clash of stars, with Constitution Hill and Lossiemouth having lined up for the pair respectively in a Christmas Hurdle that proved to be one of the highlights of the festive period.

Henderson said: “This could be a big battle and it’s great for the game. Just like over Christmas, high-class horses taking on high-class horses. I hope it’s a race that people can look forward to, it should get pretty star billing.

“We’re looking forward to it and it’s all systems go. In the Tingle Creek the other day the crowd really got behind him, which is nice. He deserves it. He’s been playing at the top table for quite a while now, he used to be the young buck coming in.”

Energumene is no stranger to Ascot’s Clarence House Chase, as Willie Mullins sent him over from Closutton for it in 2022 when he went head-to-head with another Seven Barrows superstar, the late Shishkin.

The race has been remembered as one of the best at Ascot in recent years, with Energumene going down by a length as Shishkin’s famous late surge proved too much for him.

Revenge awaited at Cheltenham, though, as with Shishkin pulled up early, Energumene won his first Champion Chase with ease

Henderson recalled: “That was one of the great races of all-time, it was billed as that and it lived up to that, which was terrific. Well, it was terrific for us, I don’t think Willie enjoyed it as much as we did! It was going their way and then it came back to go our way at the end.

“Energumene was impressive on his comeback run a few weeks ago, so it looks as if we’re going to have a re-do, but it will be Jonbon who’s going to have to do battle with him.

“The interesting thing there is that Jonbon’s very happy up there (with the pace), they could be going a right good gallop, it could be an attacking game! This could be brewing up for another historic renewal.”

Old rivals Edwardstone (Alan King) and Boothill (Harry Fry) are also in the mix, while a fascinating potential runner is Evan Williams’ Libberty Hunter.

The nine-year-old was second in the Grand Annual at Cheltenham and then third in Grade 1 novice company at Aintree, but looked an improved horse when easily winning on his comeback.

Dan Skelton’s Grand Annual winner Unexpected Party completes the list of six possibles.

Evan Williams feels the race at Ascot might offer the right sort of opportunity for Libberty Hunter to step up in class.

After winning on his seasonal reappearance at Cheltenham the nine-year-old is now rated 151.

That still leaves him some way shy of Jonbon and Energumene, but it would also see him carrying top-weight in most handicaps and Williams feels now might just be the time to step him up in class.

While there is no rain forecast through the week, there is still a thaw imminent and Williams hopes that will ensure there is enough cut in the ground to enable Libberty Hunter to run, given his preference for ease underfoot.

“The sort of rating he’s got now sort of makes you think a bit, where is the right place to go,” said Williams.

“It’s a very interesting situation with him and I couldn’t honestly say either way what is the best thing to do.

“You’d obviously love him to keep winning, but we all know none of them can keep winning all the time.

“There’s only six in there and to be honest there’s nothing in there that we didn’t expect to be there so I suppose we’d have to think about it, definitely.”

Libberty Hunter looked in a different league to his opponents on his comeback, and Williams says this race has been in the back of his mind ever since.

“He’s been grand since his last race, absolutely fine and we’ve had no issues whatsoever,” he said.

“We were always going to have a look at this race after Cheltenham and then take it from there.

“I think he’s a horse that handles soft ground beautifully, but we’re in the middle of the winter, it’s not as if it’s spring or autumn is it. We’ve had frost and a lot of rain and snow.

“I think he does need cut in the ground really, he’s a winter horse.”

Rest of card

The other Pattern race on the card is the Grade 2 BetMGM Mares’ Hurdle (Registered as the Warfield) where Willie Mullins has entered Kargese, a Grade 1 winner last year at Punchestown. She could face up to seven rivals including Take No Chances, the winner of a listed race in November at Wetherby, and Casa No Mento, a listed winner at Punchestown last May.

The race is being run over two miles for the first time after a swap of distances with Doncaster’s Grade 2 Yorkshire Rose Mares’ Hurdle, designed to further optimise the mares’ programme in Britain.

There is £418,000 of prize money on offer across the card which is the second day of the inaugural Berkshire Winter Million meeting in partnership with Windsor.

The opening race on the card, the BetMGM Juvenile Hurdle, could see Triumph Hurdle favourite Lulamba make his British debut as he features among 18 entries while the £100,000 bet365 Handicap Chase has attracted 14 entries including Hitman, Martator and Latenightpass.

Track conditions at Ascot currently remain frozen in places but with temperatures due to rise to 10C-plus by the middle of the week with milder nights and temperatures not expected to drop below freezing this week. It is due to remain dry through to Saturday and the going is currently good to soft, soft in places.