The eagerly anticipated clash of the top 2 miler chasers is finally upon us this weekend, Shishkin vs Energumene for the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase, a stepping stone to the Champion Chase at the Cheltenham festival in March, a route a lot of the great 2-mile chasers have taken previously.
Shishkin has been flawless in his career so far, winning 10 of his 11 starts under rules with plenty of Grade 1’s to his name already, including the Supreme Novices Hurdle and the Arkle Novices Chase at the Cheltenham festival.
He was foot perfect in his seasonal reappearance at Sandown last month, beating the Tingle Creek winner with ease by cool 10 lengths, jumping like his usual fantastic self and cruised to victory, eased down by Nico De Boinville, who was very complimentary of the horse after the race.
He looks a real chaser for the ages and is only an 8yo so is expected to get better with each run, his ceiling hasn’t been reached yet, for a yard who have had plenty of this sort of horse over the years with Sprinter Sacre and Altior.
They will relish this test against his 2-mile rival, and it could be a race we are all talking about for years to come, also there might be a horse that comes out of this who will also be talked about for time to come.Flawless record with 10 wins in just 11 runs under rules with 3 Grade 1’s to his name already, had a prep run this season which he won with ease.
He is a star chaser who is the one to beat for a top yard with top 2 milers previously. The one to beat in this fantastic contest.