'He still seems to have a swagger about him' - Paul Townend excited about Energumene's return in Sunday's Hilly Way at Cork

Paul Townend says Energumene retains the swagger that helped him triumph in back-to-back Champion Chases and he cannot wait to be reunited with the Willie Mullins-trained star in the Bar One Racing Hilly Way Chase on Sunday after a year and a half on the sidelines. 

Energumene was the standout name among 12 entries for the Grade 3 at Cork as his return from a hind leg injury, which scuppered his chances of doing a Badsworth Boy by winning three Champion Chases in a row edged a step closer. 

The Tony Bloom-owned ten-year-old was last seen winning the Punchestown Champion Chase in April 2023, a month after he secured his second Queen Mother at Cheltenham, but Townend reports him to be in rude health ahead of his eagerly awaited return at Cork in the race he won in 2021 and 2022.