'That was the real Chacun Pour Soi' - Paul Townend glowing after stunning win

It was billed as one of the duels of the season and it delivered in spades, but Chacun Pour Soi ultimately stamped his authority all over the William Hill Champion Chase under Paul Townend to swat away Allaho after some riveting early exchanges.

If Townend had to trot up sound before being allowed to return to play, there probably isn’t a vet in practice who would give him a clean certificate. Thankfully for him, it’s only the horses who have to be seen to be on an even keel, because there is no disguising his limp.

The foot injury he suffered at Fairyhouse three weeks earlier had healed sufficiently for him to be able to ride, and this was no place for someone harbouring doubts. On his first ride for three weeks, the three-time champion was bang up to speed.

And as a snapshot of the jockeys’ title joust between himself and Rachael Blackmore, the emphatic outcome here was probably indicative of what’s to come. He won’t be easily dethroned, for all that the challenger has and will put up a spirited fight.

“Walking is uncomfortable but it’s fine,” said Townend, who was sporting conventional exercise boots, rather than the lighter racing variety. “I was always confident I’d get here. Once I get up on the horse’s back I feel 100 per cent. I had to show that to get passed for racing and I’m just delighted to be here.”

Full William Hill Champion Chase result and analysis

Willie Mullins might train Chacun Pour Soi and Allaho, but, the way they went at it down over the first few fences, it quickly became apparent this wasn’t going to be a tactical affair. There would be no prisoners.

They took the first upsides at breakneck speed and it continued thereafter.

Allaho led marginally over the second under Blackmore, then Chacun Pour Soi took the third and fourth in front as Townend switched his mount outside. It was like watching two flyweight boxers exchange a flurry of early punches.

As Allaho began to feel the pinch on his first start at the minimum trip over fences, First Flow was then squeezed on to Chacun Pour Soi’s shoulder, with Nube Negra watching them all they way on the inner under Harry Skelton. One thing is for sure, there would be no freebies here.

By the time they crossed the fourth-last, Chacun Pour Soi had begun to stretch them all. The further they went, the more it began to look as if this was a tomcat toying with doomed mice.

From three-out, Townend began to pour it on. In stark contrast to the horse who could never get to grips with Put The Kettle On on his first visit to Cheltenham last month, and who was also passed on the run to the line there by Nube Negra, Rich and Susannah Ricci's nine-year-old was utterly remorseless.

While Nube Negra looked booked for second as they swung for home, credit to Allaho for sticking at it to grab second nearly six lengths behind the dominant winner, with Nube Negra eventually trailing home a further 19 lengths back in third.

Chacun Pour Soi: will once again be ridden by Patrick Mullins in the William Hill Champion Chase at Punchestown on TuesdayCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Having waited for so long to see him tackle the Queen Mother Champion Chase, Chacun Pour Soi’s tame submission in the Cotswolds was frustrating to watch. Here, justifying 6-5 favouritism to secure his fifth Grade 1 victory, he had all of his old swagger back. It made for a some spectacle.

“That was the real Chacun,” Townend gushed from underneath his mask. “We were all disappointed at Cheltenham. They're horses, not machines, and he didn't fire there. There was no hiding place today and he jumped for fun. That was the proper performance we were hoping for.

“His jumping kept me in my comfort zone at all stages. Jesus, he was electric. At every fence he galloped away from the back of it. That just allowed me to fill him up as we went along. He was a joy to ride, a serious thrill.”

Of the early refusal to give an inch to Allaho, he added: “We were riding for different owners, so the two of us were there to win and that’s why they put us on their backs.

"That’s what we are paid to do – to judge the pace.”

Mullins, who hit the festival running with a five-timer, as he tends to do, was enjoying a record-equalling sixth win in the two-mile championship event, and a third in succession.

Given Allaho’s gallant turn in defeat, he could hardly have wished for a better outcome.

“I think both himself and Paul were just on song today,” he said of the winner. “They gave an exhibition of jumping and racing, and he just had horses out of their comfort zone from very early on.”

"Cheltenham was very disappointing, knowing what he can do, I just felt it wasn’t the Chacun Pour Soi we know. I don’t know why he did what he did in Cheltenham – maybe we just weren’t positive enough on him."

There was no fear of that excuse being an option here. What a race.

Read more from day one at Punchestown:

What a swansong! Colreevy stuns Monkfish and Envoi Allen on her final start

No Appreciate It, no problem: classy Echoes In Rain records first Grade 1 win

No stopping Willie Mullins with five of the first six winners to Closutton

Chacun Pour Soi fans go wild on social media but Cheltenham doubts persist (Members' Club)

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