Paul Townend gets tactics right as Energumene fills rare void in Willie Mullins' CV
16 March 2022; Princess Anne, Princess Royal, presents the jockeys winning plate to Paul Townend after winning the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase with Energumene as trainer Willie Mullins watches on during day two of the Cheltenham Racing Festival at Prestbury Park in Cheltenham, England. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Festival winner number 81 for Willie Mullins was a landmark as Energumene’s romp in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase filled a rare void in the trainer’s CV and, in doing so, completed the full set of championship races for the meeting’s leading trainer.
That the race lost much of its lustre with odds-on favourite Shishkin pulling up and Chacun Pour Soi exiting before the race began in earnest will be of little concern to winning connections as this is simply horse racing, and on the day Energumene turned up in tip-top shape and proved his class.
