Energumene held a clear lead over Shishkin at the final fence in the Clarence House Chase© Photo Healy Racing
Saturday’s epic Clarence House Chase was a triumph on so many levels. First and foremost it demonstrated how horse racing at its very best is a match for any top quality sport in terms of both drama and spectacle. Four minutes and sixteen seconds of pure joy. The proven best taken on by the potential best with no quarter given and both parties coming out of the contest with their reputations enhanced is all you can hope for in any sporting encounter.
Energumene did exactly what his supporters and connections wanted, he jumped beautifully throughout and put it up to Shishkin from the front. He had the Arkle winner in trouble turning for home and despite losing out in the closing stages he proved beyond doubt that his domestic dominance was of the highest quality. He can only improve from this experience which was just his second start in open company.
Shishkin on the other hand did what true sporting champions do. He overcame midrace errors and a two length deficit approaching the final fence to get himself in front at the only place it matters. His never say die attitude coupled with sheer talent are the rarest of attributes and set him apart from all but the greatest of racehorses.
Connections of both deserve much credit for allowing their best horses to clash mid-season and silence the cynics. Nicky Henderson in particular gets plenty of stick for wrapping his stars in cotton wool pre-Cheltenham but in truth he is always putting the welfare of his animals ahead of all other considerations and his record should speak for itself. Nico de Boinville also has his detractors but he was excellent aboard Shishkin on Saturday.
Credit must also go to the handicappers who had their official ratings spot on for the pair ahead of Saturday’s race. In advance of the Clarence House there was precious little connected form to use to assess the merits of Energumene’s Irish form but despite this he was allotted a mark of 171, just one pound behind Shishkin, and that worked out to be exactly right.
The great thing about Saturday’s clash from a sporting point of view is that we are all set for round two in just seven weeks time on the biggest stage of all. Whether the rematch will live up to the billing is anyone’s guess but it’s a very exciting prospect. Considering there was precious little between the pair in the pre-race betting or the actual race on Saturday I’m surprised that the bookmakers have taken such a definitive view on the Cheltenham rematch with quotes of 4/7 Shishkin and Energumene now as big at 3/1 for the Champion Chase. If both horses turn up in the same form at the Festival I’d expect to see Energumene’s odds contract significantly.
Saturday’s Clarence House Chase was run over two miles and 167 yards whereas The Queen Mother Champion Chase is significantly shorter in distance at one mile seven furlongs and 199 yards. Energumene would certainly have held Shishkin at bay if the Ascot race had been 188 yards shorter and even over the stiffer course at Cheltenham it gives him a realistic shot at turning the form around.
The best thing about backing the likes of Energumene at 3/1 for the Champion Chase, or any horse at Cheltenham for that matter, is that you do so in the knowledge that win or lose you are backing a trier. Unfortunately that is not always the case in the lower tiers of racing where non-triers are commonplace.
The handicapping system that underpins the sport necessitates this practice and you only have to look at maiden races this time of year to see that it’s invariably triers to the front and the rest sit out the back to protect their future mark.
The stewards do their best to punish the more blatant cases but in reality there are dozens of non-triers on a daily basis that get away undetected. The core of the problem is that a horse’s qualifying rating determines its future competitiveness in handicaps.
If a horse’s initial handicap rating perfectly reflects its ability it will have little or no chance of winning a handicap because the majority of its peers will have something up their sleeve, at least initially.
The official handicappers are quick to react to horses that dramatically improve after entering the handicap system - hitting them with double-figure increases after they win - but the problem is that those horses that were campaigned honestly to attain an initial rating are only dropped by a pound or two when they under-perform in handicap races. Therefore if a horse enters the system with a rating that reflects its true ability it can take a lot of time and money to get it down to a competitive mark it can win off.
Aside from those looking to land a gamble by getting their horse well-handicapped after three quiet runs it makes commercial sense for anyone with a low to middle class performer to do the same. As long as handicaps are the only route for these horses this problem will persist.
