2023 Punchestown Champion Chase Betting Odds at Punchestown racecourse

Tuesday, 25 April 2023

Energumene heads the betting for the William Hill Champion Chase at the 2023 Punchestown Festival, with the nine-year-old having been all the rage for Tuesday’s showdown, with only a handful of horses lining up against a favourite for whom the fences are likely to be the biggest rival. A clean round of jumping could see the market leader record a facile win.

Gentleman De Mee will potentially give Energumene the most to think about and this is another Willie Mullins-trained runner who operates for JP McManus. Meanwhile, Blue Lord will bid to bounce back from a disappointing performance at the Cheltenham Festival, with Chacun Pour Soi and Magic Daze not expected to make an impression.

2023 William Hill Champion Chase Tips

There is no such think as a dead cert in horse racing although it would be a major surprise if Energumene didn’t oblige with some kind of victory on Tuesday. The nine-year-old lines up in the 2023 Punchestown Champion Chase and Paul Townend could end up riding the runner to a comfortable win in the same manner that was achieved in the Queen Mother last month.

It was a ten-length victory on 15 March when running in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, with Energumene taking well to the soft conditions and the Tony Bloom-owned runner is likely to have too much for his rivals once again. It appears that the horse’s previous run at Cheltenham at the end of January was little more than a blip.

Gentleman De Mee is a smart runner who was last seen landing a victory in the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase in early February, with the Willie Mullins-trained runner able to shock favourite Blue Lord when obliging with a victory. Perhaps there is some value in backing this horse without the market leader and the horse did beat Edwardstone at Aintree twelve months ago.

Blue Lord was sent off as one of the favourites to win the 2023 Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March, although the eight-year-old was found badly wanting and there are signs that he isn’t able to rediscover relatively strong form. A second-placed finish behind Gentleman De Mee at the Dublin Racing Festival won’t inspire too much confidence.