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Dual Champion Chase winner Energumene was triumphant in the Grade 2 Hilly Way Chase at Cork on Sunday, overcoming injury woes which saw him off the track for over a year.
Willie Mullins' ten-year-old, who was absent last season on account of a hind leg injury, raced on the front end of the field throughout. While not entirely fluent in his jumping, Paul Townend's charge did enough to see off a late challenge from Richard Deegan aboard Banbridge, with the latter unseating over the last when looking poised to stay on.
Joseph O'Brien's misfortune played directly into the hands of the Closutton team, as Willie Mullins brought up a 1-2-3 in the race, with Dinoblue ten-lengths behind in second and Appreciate It a sixteen-length third making up the places. This year's renewal marks a seventeenth overall victory in the Hilly Way for the Champion Trainer, who gave his verdict to RTE Sport in the aftermath:
"He's been doing everything right since he came off the summer grass, and today he showed he's in the form he looked at home. He put in some spectacular jumps."
"The plan was for Dinoblue to make it, but Paul said his fella just grabbed the bit and wanted to jump and gallop, and he let him do it rather than fight him. It suited him and he loves jumping and galloping, that's why he's a champion two-mile chaser – or was one."
On the subject of Energumene's main rival in the 2-mile chasing division, Mullins added, "Jonbon put in a terrific round of jumping and it's there to play for. We'll give them competition and it's one we'll all look forward to, wherever they meet."
"Hopefully we can keep them apart until Cheltenham. We'll look at what other races are there, you could go somewhere at Christmas, although it's a little bit close to Christmas for him to recover."
In view of today's result, the antepost markets for the Queen Mother Champion Chase have taken a bit of a shakeup, with Paddy Power halving Energumene in price from 10/1 into 5/1 for the Festival. Saturday's Tingle Creek winner Jonbon remains at the head of the betting at 5/2 with the same firm.
Elsewhere on the Cork card, Gavin Cromwell's Only By Night was the impressive winner of the Grade 2 Coolmore NH Sires Order Of St George Irish EBF Mares Novice Chase.
Speaking to RTE, Cromwell said, "She was good at Tipperary and has built on that. She's a very big mare, jumps very well and I'm looking forward to plenty more from her. The mares' novice chase (Grade 2 Anaglog's Daughter Mares Novice Chase) at Thurles would look to be her next race."
Paddy Power make her a 12/1 chance for the Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, a significant cut from the 25/1 available prior to today's victory.