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MATT CHAPMAN
Willie Mullins is bonkers thinking Energumene can beat Jonbon at Ascot… or is he?
The Closutton star is back for more at Ascot
DON'T they say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?
In which case, Ireland's champion trainer Willie Mullins is as bonkers as a bonkers thing thinking Energumene can land today's feature Grade 1 BetMGM Clarence House Chase at Ascot.
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Energumene is a Clarence House regular, and so far it hasn’t ended well.
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In 2022, after an epic battle, he came out second best behind Shishkin, while in 2023 he was third to Editeur du Gite in a re-arranged contest at Cheltenham.
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He's 12 now and, amazingly, isn't the oldest horse in the race! Iwilldoit, owned and trained by Sam Thomas, is a great eachway play against hot favourite Royale Pagaille. The selection carried a lot of weight to third in the Welsh National, proving there is life in the old boy yet.
Now to be fair I’ve known Mullins long enough to know he is kinda crazy, but not when it comes to horses.
So in this instance I’m happy to consider another saying, namely 'if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.'
The simple truth is there aren’t many races for Energumene to turn up in, so here he is again on ITV in pretty much a match with Jonbon, the winner of 16 of his 19 starts.
Energumene arguably comes into the event with the best recent form, having returned from a long absence to land the Grade 2 Hilly Way Chase at Cork last time.
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In that race he was about to face a challenge in the closing stages from Banbridge (gave 10lb) – the subsequent King George VI Chase hero - only for that rival to unseat his rider when a length down at the final fence.
Energumene jumped badly right on that occasion, something which would be a worry at Cheltenham but should not be so concerning at Ascot.
It’s more his age that is a worry. Although lightly raced with just 16 appearances to date, Energumene is 11 years old and only one other horse of that age has ever won the Clarence House.
That was Meikleour in 1990 and the event was a handicap then. He scored off 10st.
Willie Mullins gives verdict on 'embarrassing' changes to the Cheltenham Festival
With that all in mind it’s hard to oppose Jonbon, trained like Shishkin by Nicky Henderson.
Indeed, ‘Hendo’ has landed this prize a record six times, including with my namesake, the fabulous Big Matt, in 1996. Say nothing anyone…
His other victors include the great Sprinter Sacre and Altior.
For all his wins, Jonbon is not yet a monster of the turf. He’s beatable.
Remember Constitution Hill once made him look very ordinary in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, while Elixir du Nutz turned him over in this race last year, another renewal run at Cheltenham rather than its normal Berkshire venue.
That all said, Jonbon brings in a high level of form and is pretty solid. I have a feeling he’s actually better than he sometimes shows us.
Which seems a crazy thing to say about an eight-time Grade 1 winner. Nico de Boinville gets on with him every well.
Elsewhere today, don’t miss warrior Royale Pagaille who bids to land the Sky Bet Peter Marsh Handicap Chase at Haydock for a historic third time.
The Venetia Williams-trained 11year-old has landed five of his last six starts at the Merseyside track, including the Betfair Chase in November.
The crowd will love to see him back, ironically on a card which features Lossiemouth, although not the Lossiemouth that carries the same Rich Ricci silks as Royale Pagaille!
That all said, I’m thinking Iwilldoit is the eachway Peter Marsh bet.
I’m off to Windsor on Sunday for Sky Sports Racing, and having campaigned for years for jumps racing to return to the track I can’t wait.
Sadly, I wasn’t wanted at the course for the first two of their new National Hunt fixtures, but I know those in charge at Windsor are keen to create the atmosphere seen during the Flat season at the Monday night events and I’ll do all I can to do that.
There’s no doubt the feature race will be the Fitzdares Fleur de Lys Chase, which marks the third run of the season for last year’s Ryanair Chase hero Protektorat.
The Dan Skelton-trained runner probably needed out the outing first time at Cheltenham, and then wasn’t suited to going right-handed at Huntingdon when thrashed by Djelo, who goes again.
Protektorat will need to show a lot more here to start thinking he can retain his Ryanair crown. And at the age of ten you just wonder how much extra there is in the tank.
This two and three-quarter mile contest really is a belter, and also numbers the Peterborough Chase winner and improver Djelo, multiple Grade 1 hero Pic d’Orhy, hard to predict Ahoy Señor and the unbeaten Indiana Dream, once with Mullins but now in the care of the Jonjo O’Neill camp.
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Indiana Dream could be anything, but this is a weekend of racing adventure Indiana Jones himself should try and discover.
It’s packed full of treasures.
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