Punchestown’s season concluding festival begins on Tuesday and the highlight may just dominate the entire meeting. Champion Chaser Energumene returns and we have previewed him alongside his four rivals courtesy of Our top tipster, Daryl Carter, kicks off Guineas week with three bets from Ayr, Windsor and Thirsk. Check out his tips below, alongside Bet365‘s new customer offer of Bet £10, Get £50 In Free Bets.
Andy Dufresne 16/1
A Grade 2 winner over hurdles and Grade 3 scorer over fences, ANDY DUFRESNE has had a rock solid career for Gordon Elliott.
In 11 rules starts, he has only once been outside the top three, with five of his races resulting in victory. That said, he has not been a prolific racer, never meeting a track more than four times in a season. This term, he has only run twice to date.
Both have resulted in runner-up finishes, first to Captain Guinness at Naas, when conceding him 7lb, and the latter at the Cheltenham Festival. He went off favourite for his first handicap start in the Grand Annual, but found Global Citizen too strong, conceding that rival 19lb.
He is a very steady and consistent operator and there is every chance he will perform capably again. However, as a winning proposition, he would need the two Willie Mullins runners to underachieve here.
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Captain Guinness 33/1
Abandoned by Rachael Blackmore for this race, CAPTAIN GUINNESS is probably the most genuine outsider in the field.
He may have beaten Andy Dufresne earlier in the season, but that came in receipt of 7lb from that rival. Similarly, though he won a Grade 3 at Naas from a useful rival back in February, he has run three times in Grade 1s this season and finished unplaced in each.
Some heart could be taken from the fact he finished ahead of Chacun Pour Soi in the Tingle Creek. However, that horse clearly had an off day, while Captain Guiness’ most recent start came in the Melling Chase at Aintree. He was well-beaten behind Fakir D’oudairies.
The step back to 2m will definitely help, but he is not a Grade 1 horse in the mould of some of his rivals here.
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Chacun Pour Soi 7/4
After winning on six of his first seven starts over fences, CHACUN POUR SOI has slightly lost his edge as a winning machine.
He has won just two of his last five. That would hardly count as a dry spell for most horses, but it is notable in its contrast to his previous form. However, there is another factor which puts it into some kind of context.
All three of those recent defeats have come when travelling across to England. He has maintained a near flawless record in Ireland, winning eight of his nine chase starts when remaining closer to home. Indeed, he has not just been winning when staying in Ireland, but pulverising his opposition.
He won this by 5½ lengths from none other than Allaho last term. That was an extremely high quality performance and showed him at his destructive best. His win in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown in February showed he still has all his sparkle and he will be formidable to defeat here.
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Energumene 4/6
The new Champion Chaser and elite two-miler of his generation, ENERGUMENE announced himself as such with a superb victory at Cheltenham.
That race proved a slight disappointment for neutrals with the lifeless run of Shishkin and the unfortunate unseat of Patrick Mullins by Chacun Pour Soi. However, Energumene, under a previously untried, patient ride by Paul Townend, bounded clear in the closing stages to win by 8½ lengths despite attritional conditions.
Revenge would have felt sweet for Mullins, Townend and owner Tony Bloom, who had seen the eight-year-old defeated so narrowly by Shishkin at Ascot. Now, though, they are no underdogs and he will have to prove his worth at the top of the tree.
It will be no mean feat were he to beat Chacun Pour Soi in Ireland, as many a talented horse has fallen by the wayside against that rival. However, Energumene himself is out of the ordinary and is the one to beat.
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Envoi Allen 16/1
For a few brief moments between the third and second last fences at Cheltenham, it looked as if the prophecies may finally have aligned.
ENVOI ALLEN, much feted throughout his career, has been much more maligned this season, as the step up to open company has proved much more challenging than his novice days. However, he did win the Grade 1 Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase at Leopardstown in December, albeit in a frighteningly weak, three-runner renewal.
Nevertheless, Cheltenham arrived and it was perhaps a surprise he went for the Champion Chase above the Ryanair at a more intermediate trip. He led heading towards the final two fences, travelling kindly enough, only for his engine to empty in the wake of Energumene’s charge.
Overturning that form looks a thankless task here, but third place is within his sights again.
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Verdict
This is a serious clash between two extraordinary stablemates. Chacun Pour Soi‘s record in Ireland is such that he could lower the colours of ENERGUMENE, but Paul Townend has opted to ride the recently-crowned Champion Chaser. His only defeat came at the hands of an on-form Shishkin, and he was equally as destructive as Chacun Pour Soi at this meeting a year ago. He gets a narrow nod to confirm his status as the king of this division.
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