Willie Mullins reveals reigning two-mile Champion Chase hero Energumene is likely to miss the season through injury

Energumene's bid to emulate Badsworth Boy by claiming a historic third consecutive Champion Chase looks like it has run aground early after Willie Mullins revealed his star two-mile chaser will likely miss the entire season through injury.

"Unfortunately Energumene has a hind leg injury and he will probably be out of action for the season," Mullins told the Racing Post on Wednesday evening.

The champion trainer's brilliant Tony Bloom-owned nine-year-old returned to his spectacular best at the Cheltenham Festival in March following defeat in the rescheduled Clarence House Chase at the track in January.

Paul Townend and Energumene after winning the Champion ChaseCredit: Patrick McCann

In retaining his Queen Mother crown, he slammed Captain Guinness by ten lengths, before completing the double-double with a second game win over Chacun Pour Soi in the Punchestown equivalent the following month.

Despite such a disappointing blow this early in the campaign, Mullins still holds considerable influence over the Champion Chase ante-post market. His dominant Arkle Trophy winner El Fabiolo was already the long-term favourite to usurp his stablemate, who had been a general 3-1 second favourite to replicate Badsworth Boy's 1980s hat-trick.

Numerous bookmakers removed Energumene from their ante-post lists after the news emerged on Wednesday evening, with El Fabiolo tightening from a top-priced 13-8 into as low as even-money favourite with many firms. The next on the list is Jonbon, who could not live with El Fabiolo when they clashed at Cheltenham in March.

El Fabiolo is unbeaten in four chasing starts, three of which have come in Grade 1s, starting with the Irish Arkle at Leopardstown in February before he then added the Barberstown Castle Novice Chase at the Punchestown festival.

The Nicky Henderson-trained Jonbon had been trading at around 7-1 before news of Energumene's setback emerging. He was duly tightened into 5-1 by Paddy Power, who had already been just 6-1 about him, but double-figure offerings can still be had about everything else.

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