Energumene Favourite To Win Champion Chase On Opening Day Of Punchestown Festival

The Willie Mullins trained Energumene is the 4/5 favourite to win the Grade One Champion Chase on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival.

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This Willie Mullins trained star landed the Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival last month by 8½ lengths with the 5/6 favourite Shishkin pulling up.

Chacun Pour Soi unseated his rider Patrick Mullins in the same race and is the 6/4 second favourite to get revenge on his stablemate at the Kildare venue.

Both stars were Grade One winners at the Punchestown Festival last year, so a good battle is expected with Andy Defresne (14/1), Envoi Allen (18/1) and Captain Guinness (33/1) also taking their chances.

Another Cheltenham Grade One winning star is being backed to win the Champion Novice Hurdle with the Willie Mullins trained Sir Gerhard 4/5 from 5/6. This 7-year-old won the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle last month by 3½ lengths as the 8/11 favourite and is fancied to win again on Tuesday.

A faller in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Dysart Dynamo is next in the betting at 13/8 and is also trained by Mullins with the Gordon Elliott pair of Mighty Potter (15/2) and Vina Ardanza (33/1) lining up. Gatsby Grey is the 40/1 outsider.

The third Grade One of the day is the Champion Novice Chase with the Henry De Bromhead trained Bob Olinger the 13/8 favourite to land the spoils.

A winner last time out at the Cheltenham Festival in the Turners Novices’ Chase when looking well beaten only for Galopin Des Champs falling at the last fence. Willie Mullins’ Capodanno is next at 5/2 with Fury Road 13/2.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Kinsella is a passionate sports fan who works as a PR Executive for BoyleSports.

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