Electric Energumene will bid to add his name to a roll of honour featuring household names from the same Willie Mullins stable such as Chacun Pour Soi, Un De Sceaux and Douvan in the Grade 2 Kerry Group Hilly Way Chase at Cork on Sunday but he is very unlikely to have it all his own way. Sean O’Keeffe will partner the dual Grade 1 novice chase winner, who steps into open company for the first time against five other competitors, chief among them another dual Grade 1 winning novice chaser, Notebook.

The Gigginstown House Stud eight-year-old galloped ten lengths clear of Samcro on his seasonal reappearance four weeks ago and may well have a fitness edge on the favourite.

Trainer Henry de Bromhead reports his charge to be in fine fettle since that impressive triumph.
“He had a few options this week but we just said we’d have a go to Cork and see,” said the Knockeen conditioner. “The Hilly Way looks like a good option and he’s in great form.

“He was brilliant in Navan on his first run of the campaign. He jumped great and it was great to see him back in form again.

“We will try him over two and a half miles at some stage but we kicked the idea down the road for the moment as this looked like the good option for him.”

Mullins has won 12 if the last 14 renewals of the Kerry Group Hilly Way Chase, with Pat Fahy’s Castlegrace Paddy in 2-18 and de Bromhead’s own ultra-consistent Days Hotel in 2012 the odd ones out.

“That was a great day,” recalled de Bromhead. “Days Hotel was brilliant for us. It would be nice to win it again but it’s a competitive race.”

Last year’s Kerry Group Hilly Way Chase runner-up Darasso will bid to go one better this year for Joseph O’Brien and Luke Dempsey, while the field is completed by Cash Back, Daly Tiger and Sizing Pottsie.

Sunday’s chief supporting race at Cork Racecourse is the Grade 2 O’Flynn Group Irish EBF Mares Novice Chase for which 11 have been declared including the Willie Mullins-trained Cheltenham Festival winner Concertista ,who will make her chasing debut against two very impressive recent winners in Magic Daze and the four-year-old Riviere D’etel.

De Bromhead is looking forward to watching Magic Daze step up in class after a 24-length cruise over course and distance three weeks ago. Denis O’Regan steps into the plate.

“She seemed to love jumping fences the other day. This looked like an obvious race for as she progresses her chasing career and she clearly has a liking for Cork which is a help.

“Denis O’Regan doesn’t ride a lot for us these days but with all the meetings on, we were very lucky to get him. He rode Sizing Europe a lot for me years ago and we had plenty of success with him. He’s riding very well at the moment and we are delighted to have a jockey of that quality for Magic Daze.”

The Grade 3 Singletons Supervalu Stayers Novice Hurdle will see the Jonathan Sweeney-trained Churchstonewarrior and Chinx Of Light trained by John McConnell put their recent winning credentials on the line, while Willie Mullins has a significant runner in each division of the Follow Us On Instagram Maiden Hurdle. Mullins runs Grade 1 bumper winner Kilcruit in the opening divide while the exciting two-time bumper winner Dysart Dynamo makes his hurdling debut in the second heat.

Only a short 30 minute drive from Cork city on the Limerick Road (N20), Cork Racecourse is also well serviced by hourly trains from Kent Station (with free shuttle buses making the short hop from train station to racecourse). Ample FREE parking is available onsite. The first on an eight race card on Sunday is now off at 11.40am. For Tickets go to www.corkracecourse.ie or call the Cork Racecourse ticket-line on 022 50207.