No thoughts given yet to next step for Energumene

There is no pressure on Willie Mullins’ Energumene to run again this term after he was pulled up at the Cheltenham Festival.

The 11-year-old was returning to the meeting in a bid to reclaim his Queen Mother Champion Chase crown, a title he gained by wide margins in both 2022 and 2023.

He missed the 2024 meeting due to a setback that left him off the track for nearly 600 days, but his comeback in the Hilly Way at Cork in December suggested his old ability was still intact, as he looked to have the measure of subsequent King George winner Banbridge when Joseph O’Brien’s charge unseated at the last.

Next time out he was the runner-up behind Jonbon in the Clarence House at Ascot, a run that led into the Cheltenham Festival where he started a 6-1 chance to strike again Wednesday’s feature race.

He made the running in a field of eight and looked to have every chance over the third fence from home, but from there his progress stalled and he was eventually pulled up by Paul Townend.

After being assessed by the vet he was found to be suffering from a sore shin, but soon he was trotting up sound and he remains that way having travelled back to Closutton.

“He was pulled up and he seemed quite distressed, Paul felt that he’d lost his action a bit. We were a bit concerned and we had the vet check him over, he got quite a bad knock to his shin,” said Sean Graham, racing manager to owner Tony Bloom.

“He trotted up sound the following day and he seems fine, but they will just keep an eye on him over the next few weeks.

“We’ve no idea at this stage if he’ll run at Punchestown, we haven’t even thought about that yet so we’ll just give him time to recover.”

Though he is in the latter stages of his career as an 11-year-old, should he bounce back from Cheltenham with his usual enthusiasm then retirement is not imminent.

“He comes first, if he does live to fight another day this season then that would be brilliant, but if not the horse owes us nothing,” Graham added.

“He was still a 6-1 chance to win the race (at Cheltenham), so if he’s fit and healthy enough then why not bring him back as a 12-year-old?

“Captain Guinness was there as a 12-year-old and he was placed, there’s no need to end a horse’s career just for the sake of it.

“If he’s happy and healthy and is still enjoying it then there’s no reason not to keep him in training.”