FEATURE CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL
F E S T I V A L WE D N E S D AY DAY TWO With the scene now set by a frenetic opening day, you might imagine that Festival Wednesday may present an opportunity to catch your breath. Instead, the speed goes up a notch…
I f we were to liken the Cheltenham Festival to a music event, there would be some artists who would struggle with the pressure of following the extraordinary action that Champion Day brings. But with the scene now set, Festival Wednesday takes a completely different role, by delivering sensational sport – at speed. That is brought first and foremost by the feature, the Grade One Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, which builds on the pace of the Champion Hurdle the previous day by offering a speed test like no other. Staged over two miles, the Champion Chase needs a perfect balance of speed, alongside an ability to be inch- perfect over each of the 13 fences on Cheltenham’s Old Course, if you are to be successful. Add in the fact that each of those obstacles are taken at pace and you have a checklist that few other
sporting events can match, meaning that only a select few have a formula to solve the puzzle. As such, the Champion Chase has a knack for producing a superstar, and multiple winners of the race this century have included Jumps racing legends such as Altior, Sprinter Sacre, Master Minded, Moscow Flyer and Viking Flagship. A stunning ten-length victory in last season’s race means that we can now add the name of Energumene to that list, with Willie Mullins’ charge overcoming one of the strongest fields for years to cement his name as the star of the two-mile chasing division. Grade One winners Edwardstone, Editeur Du Gite and Greaneteen all stood in his way – as did multiple Grade Two winners Nube Negra and Funambule Sivola, to boot – but none could lay a glove on Energumene, who overturned defeat on Festival
Trials Day against the first-named pair in some style. That victory saw Energumene become the 13th dual winner of the race, and the winning jockey Paul Townend pulled few punches about the manner of his success in the aftermath. He said: “That was easy, to be honest. I got in a lovely rhythm on him, and after the first two fences, he was taking them on, he was quick at them and it was simple – it was just a matter of keeping him in a rhythm after that.” Energumene will have the chance to become just the second horse after the legendary Badsworth Boy (in 1983, 1984 and 1985) to win this race three times should be return next year, but there is the small matter of seeing off stablemate and graduating novice El Fabiolo – a ruthless winner of Tuesday’s Grade One Arkle Trophy. Another novice from last year to keep an eye on this time around is The Real
“Energumene cemented his name as the star of the two-mile chasing division”
52 Kalendar
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