By Irishracing.com

Amongst the clashes will be round two of Jonbon vs. Energumene in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday March 12.

Champion Chase Odds

Nicky Henderson's Jonbon is favourite to claim the two-mile Championship event, trading at around 11/10 with bet365, while two-time winner Energumene is as big as 7/1 to reclaim the crown he last won in 2023.

Can Willie Mullins' star turn things around after being beaten by Jonbon in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot?

If you are placing a bet on the big event in March consider using the bet365 bonus code which allows you to claim €50 in free bets to spend on the action when you bet €10. Simply use the code ‘365IRC’ to claim the offer when you register your details.

Assessing Energumene at his best

Energumene won the Champion Chase in 2022 and 2023 but a reflective look at those races might call into question just how strong they were.

In his first win, his two highest-rated rivals – Shishkin and Chacun Pour Soi – were gone by the middle of the race. Shishkin was pulled up, clearly not on good terms with himself, and Chacun Pour Soi dumped Patrick Mullins on the floor at the ninth fence.

Former winners Politologue and Put The Kettle On were the last pair to finish while Envoi Allen didn't have the speed for the test at hand, leaving Funambule Sivola to take the silver medal. Venetia Williams' charge has never got closer to a Grade 1 win.

A year on, the Champion Chase was billed as a duel between Energumene and Edwardstone but the latter finished tailed off as the champ easily beat Captain Guinness. That rival would inherit the crown in 2024 but it was a poor Champion Chase, with essentially only two finishers as he beat Gentleman De Mee with Funambule Sivola coming home in his own time.

Energumene is a two-time winner of this Festival race but is he truly of the same ilk as the likes of Moscow Flyer, Masters Minded, Sprinter Sacre and Altior – the other dual winners this century?

Clarence House result looked decisive

Defeat at Ascot in January hasn't stopped Energumene from being top of the pops at Cheltenham in March in the past.

He lost out to Shishkin in a vintage Clarence House in 2022 but turned the tables in the Cotswolds. As noted, that particular Seven Barrows rival patently failed to fire come Cheltenham in that instance.

Their set-to at Ascot had been riveting, Energumene leading from flagfall and asking major questions of Shishkin before Nico de Boinville's partner ran him down after the last. A length split them at the post in a contest that was in the melting pot every inch of the way.

This time around it was a bit different. Jonbon led the way, mostly at a decent tempo, and when de Boinville wanted him to, he laid it on thick and came clear for a six-and-a-half-length win.

Energumene, now 11-years-old and having sat out almost two years prior to his win at Cork in December, didn't have the gears to go with him on this occasion and the result was never in any sort of doubt.

Jonbon's Festival question to be answered

The only reason for lingering doubt when it comes to Jonbon is the fact that his three career defeats – his only setbacks in a 20-race career under Rules – have all come around Cheltenham.

Two of them came at Festivals in March, behind the mighty Constitution Hill in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle and then El Fabiolo in the Arkle. The third, in the Clarence House run at Cheltenham in 2024, saw Jonbon almost unseating James Bowen four fences from home and rallying gamely to be denied a neck at the line.

Assessing his overall body of work, which includes a couple of wins at Cheltenham in the Grade 2 Shloer Chase at the November Meeting, he's been astonishingly consistent in what he does as a racehorse.

On occasion, he has made jumping mistakes over fences but this season they have been minimal and he looks as good as ever.

He merits a Cheltenham Festival win. Other sports such as golf and tennis have the best player never to have won a Major or Grand Slam and Jonbon right now looks the best horse never to sample success at the Cheltenham Festival.

Henderson's charge can put that to right in 2025 and, on paper, the declining powers of Energumene no longer appear equipped to stop him. You can join bet365 to see the latest odds for the 2025 Champion Chase.