Energumene's connections “will not be hidden” from the all-star clash with Jonbon at Ascot later this month, with the BetMGM Clarence House Chase likely to be next for the two-time Champion Chase hero.
Taking advantage of Shishkin's slip-up when he started his first Chase of 2022, Willie Mullins' sole winner in the film on day two of the Cheltenham Festival returned in top form to defend his crown a year later, demolishing the opposition, with reigning champion chaser Captain Guinness 10 lengths adrift per second.
Injury denied him the chance to become only the second horse to win three Champion Chases, as he spent the entire 2023-24 campaign on the sidelines. But he made a thrilling return after 593 days off when he reappeared at his traditional starting point, Cork's Hilly Way Chase, where he looked set to beat the next King George Banbridge hero when he left the place last time.
Energumene previously followed a pre-Christmas trip to Cork with Cheltenham at Clarence House and normal service is due to resume on January 18.
Owned by Brighton & Hove Albion supremo Tony Bloom, few can forget Energumene's titanic showdown with the aforementioned Shishkin in the Grade One event three years ago, with the pair separated by just a length after battling for supremacy down the Ascot straight.
The 11-year-old now looks set to meet another standout performer in Seven Barrows' Nicky Henderson, with the race nominated as Jonbon's next port of call en route to the Champion Chase – and the Energumene team are keen to take on the challenge, providing the conditions are right.
Jonbon is the favorite for the 2025 Champion Chase
“I spoke to Willie just before the Christmas period and he said he was fine and came out of Hilly Way in great shape,” said Sean Graham, Bloom's racing manager.
“Banbridge went and franked that form a bit by winning the King George, but Willie also pointed out that Dinoblue (10 lengths a second) didn't run so well after that – so you could say one line of form says he's franked and another says he's not .
“He's in great form and we're just hoping the ground is soft at Ascot because the softer the better for him.
“We're certainly not going to hide from the race and if the conditions are good and the surface is soft and not too fast, then that's the race we're aiming for. I haven't heard anything different since I spoke to Willie, so I assume it's the same.”
The unfortunate Shishkin beat the Energumenes in a classic finish at Clarence House 2022.
Despite Clarence House potentially seeing the Champion Chase's two front-runners go toe-to-toe, half an eye will be looking ahead to March, with the main aim for Energumene arriving at the Cheltenham Festival with a clean bill of health.
At Prestbury Park he will have the chance to repeat the exploits of Badsworth Boy, who is the only horse to win the Champion Chase three times and is 5-1 overall with layers after his return from Cork.
Only Jonbon and fellow Gaelic Warrior are ahead of him in the two-mile championship betting, with the links giving hope of desirable underfoot conditions ahead of his long-awaited Cotswolds hat-trick.
“Before he ran at Hilly Way he was 12-1 to win the Champion Chase and now he's about 5-1,” Graham continued.
“He will be 11 in March and the last 11-year-old to win the Champion Chase was Moscow Flyer, and before that you have to go back to Skymas in the 1970s.
“They're the last two 11-year-olds to win a race and that's a big ask, but if the ground is soft on Wednesday at Cheltenham, and I mean good soft ground, then I wouldn't trade it for anything.
“Badsworth Boy is the only horse to win three Champion Chases and when you look at all the great horses that have competed in that race over the years and all the superstars, if Energumene went and won in March then he would be the first in a long time to win three of them.
“It shows how much demand it is, but we want to get it there in one piece and still do well.”