Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)

WILLIE Mullins’ seemingly interminable wait to land this two-mile chasing championship came to an end and it did so in remarkably straightforward fashion as Energumene was in a class of his own at the conclusion of a rather eventful edition of this race.

After that epic clash between Energumene and Shishkin at Ascot in January this rematch between the pair was eagerly awaited while a strong supporting cast featuring the likes of Chacun Pour Soi, Envoi Allen and Put The Kettle On offered the potential for huge excitement.

However, the manner in which this race unfolded emphasised just how lucky we were to witness that Ascot race as this was a sharply contrasting affair in which Energumene was flawless whereas his chief rival never turned up on ground deemed to be too heavy for him. For Townend the decision to opt for the winner over Chacun Pour Soi wasn’t an easy one but his marginal call was the right one and the right one by some measure.

The runners approached the first fence at a good gallop and after clearing that Shishkin already had to be nudged along as Chacun Pour Soi cut out the running with Energumene dropping in at the rear in a dramatic change of tactics. Shishkin continued to be niggled along through the first mile and just as he began to get detached from the main group he was pulled up.

Then at the next fence, the fifth last, Chacun Pour Soi parted company with Patrick Mullins and suddenly an inevitable air descended as Energumene loomed up powerfully on the outside.

Different level

Envoi Allen tried to make a race of it with the Tony Bloom-owned winner but he was beaten before two out as Energumene pressed on for home. The 40/1 Funambule Sivola gave chase in the closing stages but the winner was operating on an entirely different level and finished with eight and a half lengths to spare.

“We just felt that we had completely the wrong tactics at Ascot but today it wasn’t about tactics so much. I was just very disappointed to see Chacun Pour Soir going out of the race early, but I could see Paul travelling and the horse loving conditions here,” said Willie Mullins. “This race probably suited him better. He’s got more speed than maybe we thought at Ascot. We thought after the race we should have waited, rather than play our cards early.

“We had to change something and that was the plan, that we should follow Shishkin around, but then I got worried and said, Shishkin wasn’t travelling over the first two fences - Paul has to think about winning the race as well, when is he going to leave Shishkin and go and concentrate on the race?

“But Nico pulled up the other horse, so it was a bit of an anticlimax. Still, from my point of view it was nerve wracking. You could see he was travelling the whole way, though. It’s great for Paul, and great for Tony Bloom.”

Afterwards Nicky Henderson reported Shishkin to be none the worse for his abortive outing which resulted in the first defeat of the gelding’s chasing career. “He seems fine. Nico has pulled him and said he was fine but to be honest going to the first fence you could tell he wasn’t where he wanted to be and I knew why. He just couldn’t get out of the ground. It’s very extreme ground, heavy ground, and that is obviously not his scene,” reflected Henderson.