Cheltenham Festival News: Mullins talking up Chacun Pour Soi over Energumene in Champion Chase
Chacun Tingle
All the Champion Chase talk is on Shishkin Vs Energumene but Willie Mullins says Chacun Pour Soi may have something to say on March 16.
Willie Mullins still has plenty of belief in his somewhat forgotten horse Chacun Pour Soi in the Champion Chase, with all the talk about Energumene and Shishkin.
Mullins' new star Energumene is trading at around half the odds of the 10-year-old but Mullins thinks the six-times Grade 1 winner Chacun Pour Soi is more than capable of claiming a first Festival win.
The eight-year-old Energumene only has to make a length up on Nicky Henderson's odds-on favourite Shishkin but Mullins believes more talk should be on Chacun Pour Soi despite failing to get up the famous Cheltenham hill in last year's race, when he faded into third.
"I think the world of Chacun Pour Soi. Maybe, as a lot of people are saying, he's not able to face the hill in Cheltenham, but he's a horse I'd like to see getting a fair crack of the whip over there, which I think we haven't had yet," said Mullins.
"Maybe he's a horse that runs better fresh, especially when you take all the travelling into it.
"At the time I felt we should have been more use of him last year. This year it's a different race and we'll see what happens.
"Energumene is a young horse coming up and Chacun has done a lot, so we'll give him the respect he's due I think.
"Energumene ran a terrific race in Ascot. We know he's not far away from wherever Shishkin is, but as I said on the day, it's going to be hard to turn that form around.
"I think Shishkin made two mistakes, so he has that advantage if he has a clear round. We can probably change things a little bit with Energumene and hope to turn it around, but it's going to be tough I think.
"I'm hoping while the two of them are fighting it out, Chacun Pour Soi might have the race won - that would be a dream."
