By James Toney

It was billed as a head-to-head match race in the grand traditions of the sport but Nicky Henderson's brilliant chaser Jonbon simply had other ideas.

Energumene, a double Champion Chase winner for Willie Mullins at the Cheltenham Festival, was simply no match for Henderson's pride and joy.

He stuck his nose in front from the off and never stopped sniffing the winning post to claim the BetMGM Clarence House Chase at Ascot in style.

Paul Townend patiently tracked Nicky de Boinville for two miles but Jonbon's jockey pinged the last and accelerated clear for a six-and-a-half-length victory.

They will clash again at Cheltenham in just 53 days with Henderson's hope odds-on and Gaelic Warrior, another Mullins charge, now installed as the best of the rest.

Jonbon though will take some beating, this was his ninth Grade One success and it stretches his unbeaten run to five.

Henderson has won Cheltenham's Champion Chase a joint record six times and another success in a few weeks would put him into a league of his own, ahead of Tom Dreaper and Paul Nicholls.

De Boinville piloted three of those winners including the brilliant Altior, a back-to-back champion in 2018 and 2019. He believes Jonbon could well be in the same class.

"He is so consistent and he answered every call," he said.

"I was trying to keep a lid on him, it's a joy and privilege to ride a horse like this. He just loves taking everyone on."

Energumene, who like his rival was 11 from 13 in starts over fences, would rather not see Ascot again - three years ago he lost another head-to-head here, an instant classic with Henderson's Shiskin.

That was a race, this was cakewalk.

However, just a few weeks later Shishkin stuttered at the Festival and Energumene claimed his first title, it's a fickle and nervy time of year in jumps racing and there's not enough cotton wool at Seven Barrows for Henderson to swaddle Jonbon in.

Twelve months ago the 74-year-old trainer looked ready and primed for another Cheltenham to remember, only for a disappointing run of form on the eve of the meeting to change everything, he was forced to withdraw Jonbon and then watched with frustration as Captain Guinness won a weak renewal.

"We knew it was going to be tough but he is tough. I thought they might play cat and mouse for a few fences but Nico just took the race on and asked everyone else to come with us," said Henderson.

"He was very fresh, too fresh to be honest, we had to be fit and ready for this and that's the way he wants to run.

"He's so clever, he dances over these fences. He wasn't the easiest horse as a youngster, he was a very tricky customer but now he is so much more sensible.

"He deserves to win the Champion Chase, he missed it last year and it went wrong two years before, otherwise his record is unblemished.

"Everything has gone according to plan but this time last year we were in the same boat and there is a long time to go yet. You can't blame him for missing last year, it was unfair on him and cruel on the whole team to watch that race go by."