First Flow adds more spice to 'one of the races of the season' in Clarence House

Kim Bailey reports First Flow to be on course to defend his Clarence House Chase crown with the Ascot Grade 1 gearing up to be potentially one of the races of the season.

Willie Mullins indicated the plan is to send his unbeaten chaser Energumene to Berkshire on January 22 and reiterated his stance with the brilliant Hilly Way Chase winner on Wednesday, while Nicky Henderson gave hope the clash we were denied in last season’s Arkle could take place as Shishkin could run.

Henderson has left the option open to send Shishkin, also unbeaten over fences, to next month’s Game Spirit Chase at Newbury instead, but Energumene is set to face another significant and new opponent at Ascot in First Flow.

Tony Solomons’ ten-year-old was a brilliant seven-length winner of the race last season and returned in good heart at Huntingdon last month, winning the Grade 2 Peterborough Chase and posting his second-best Racing Post Rating of 168 – just 2lb shy of his Clarence House effort.

David Bass and Kim Bailey celebrate First Flow's Clarence House Chase triumphCredit: Edward Whitaker

Bailey is hoping conditions will be suitably testing and said: “First Flow is doing fine and is still on track for the Clarence House. His preparation has gone well and is uninterrupted so far. We’re just hoping it will be nice and heavy ground by the time we get to Ascot.”

Energumene, whose peak RPR of 174 was achieved in Cork’s Hilly Way last month, is the general 4-5 favourite for the Clarence House, with Shishkin (peak RPR 175, achieved twice and most recently in last month’s Desert Orchid Chase) next best in the market.

SBK Clarence House card and betting

Bookmakers deem First Flow to be the biggest threat to the high-profile second-season chasers at 5-1, but the daunting level of opposition is not off-putting for the Gloucestershire trainer, even if he is realistic his runner may be the outsider of those three.

Bailey added: “At this moment in time it’s probably one of the best races of the season. They’re both very good horses and perhaps we’ll be the outsider of three, but he won last year so that has to count for something."

Funambule Sivola, second to First Flow in the Peterborough, and the Paul Nicholls-trained Hitman and Rouge Vif are also among the 11 entries for the SBK-sponsored race.

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