ENERGUMENE crowned his season by completing the Champion Chase double at the expense of Chacun Pour Soi at Punchestown.

Although the nine-year-old looked to make heavy weather of beating his ageing stable companion he ran a bigger number than when winning at Cheltenham.

The credibility in the performance is enhanced when considering this is the first defeat in the race for Chacun Pour Soi in three runnings and a first loss for Blue Lord when racing right-handed over fences.

The challenge to retain the two-mile crown next season will come from within Closutton in the shape of El Fabiolo who, while not matching the level he reached at Cheltenham, was not required to do so to win the Grade 1 Barberstown Castle Novice Chase on Thursday.

Plenty has been documented about the way the six-year-old crosses his fences, although he has remained upright throughout his chasing career to date despite the odd awkward leap at whatever the racing pace.

Credit must go to Danny Mullins though as he was able to delay Dysart Dynamo from gathering his usual head of steam until the back straight.

However, the result remained the same as his stable companion and old adversary still took his measure with his superior finishing speed.

In stopping the clock for his closing sectional from the third last fence at 47.8secs, the Grade 1 winner was admittedly eclipsed by Dinoblue who covered the same ground in 47.6secs.

However, the strength of the Willie Mullins-trained six-year-old is his ability to finish effectively following a strong pace which is illustrated by his final circuit being 20 lengths quicker than the J.P. McManus-owned mare.

On the time figures this season, Energumene will have to raise his game further, although the presence of the trail blazing Dysart Dynamo could elicit the required improvement.

Paul Townend will, at some point, face the unenviable decision of choosing between the pair, although with this unlikely to be before Cheltenham we will have to be patient for the verdict of the champion jockey.

The clock, and my conclusion, is he would be advised to side with wearing the double green silks of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.

Will Jonbon move up to intermediate division?

THE intermediate trip division is the most intriguing of them all as the likes of Jonbon and Saint Roi may seek to avoid a clash with El Fabiolo, even though it may mean locking horns with a returning Allaho. Add to the mix Kilcruit and possibly Impervious and the path to the Ryanair Chase could be fascinating.

The events at Punchestown on Friday shed some early light on the merits of Kilcruit and Impervious as they were both convincing winners of their respective races at the Co Kildare venue.

The quicker time on the day was recorded by Willie Mullins’ fifth consecutive winner of the two-mile-five-furlong novice handicap chase as the Margaret Masterson-owned gelding made all the running in the hands of Townend.

However, the 2.2secs gap between the winners reduced to 1.5secs when analysing the final circuit and then narrowed even further through the closing stages with Kilcruit again holding the edge courtesy of covering the ground from the third last fence in 49.6secs. Colm Murphy’s mare stopped the clock at 50.2secs for her sectional.

The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle won by Constitution Hill also ties Jonbon and Kilcruit together nicely, as just two lengths separated the pair in the rapidly run novice hurdle.

Jonbon built on his Aintree success with another stunning performance on the clock at Sandown, presenting Nicky Henderson with the dilemma of whether to stay at two miles or move up in distance next season.

If the minimum trip is the chosen path he will need to improve further, as he has yet to reach the same level as El Fabiolo achieved at Cheltenham, despite this success and victory at Aintree.

The acid test could well come at Sandown in December when he is likely to face either Energumene or El Fabiolo in the Tingle Creek Chase. If defeat determines the seven-year-old then steps up in trip, the extra distance could well see him improve further.

Of all the novices discussed, he is the one closest to the previous achievements of Allaho on the clock and the split times at Sandown portray he will have no problem staying further than two miles as he maintained the gallop following some very quick early fractions.

State simply superior again

There was nothing to impact on the hierarchy over hurdles in open company as State Man confirmed himself best-of-the-rest again with a convincing victory in the Punchestown version of the Champion Hurdle.

The Joe Donnelly-owned gelding clocked a very respectable time figure given he was forced to make all of his own running again and I have no doubt he can rate higher given the correct circumstances.

However, the problem he will face is no matter how quickly he can run, Constitution Hill will run quicker, if Nicky Henderson decides to stay over the smaller obstacles of course.

Impaire Et Passe emerged as a possible contender for the Champion Hurdle crown when winning the Ballymore Hurdle at Cheltenham. On Friday he maintained his winning sequence in workmanlike fashion without being at his best, however he was behind State Man every step of the way according to the data. The overall time comparison suggests there were 10 lengths between the two races when adjusted for distance although as the analysis is completed deeper into the races the superiority of the Champion Hurdle second grew as the pair were separated by 15 lengths when isolating the final circuit.

The final piece in the jigsaw was State Man was also the quickest from the third last hurdle as he covered the ground in 56.9secs, with Impaire Et Passe stopping the clock at 59.1secs.

The time analysis from the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival suggests the principals in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Marine Nationale and Facile Vega, would have finished close up in the Champion Hurdle.

Facile Vega franked the form with his victory in the Grade 1 KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle on the opening day, returning a time figure just two lengths short of his achievement at Cheltenham.

If connections of either decide to stay over hurdles they would represent the best of the novices to head towards the Champion Hurdle in my opinion.