Best Clarence House Chase winners including Shishkin and Sprinter Sacre
Tony McFadden highlights the five best winning efforts in the Clarence House Chase, based on Timeform's performance ratings, since the race was awarded Grade 1 status in 2008.
181 Shishkin (2022)
There are unlikely to be many runners in Saturday's Clarence House Chase at Ascot on Saturday but if the line-up includes both El Fabiolo and Jonbon there will be few complaining.
Four runners went to post in the Clarence House Chase a couple of seasons ago, but it was clear from some way out that the race was effectively a match between Shishkin and Energumene. That didn't prevent the contest from producing one of the most enthralling spectacles over jumps in recent years, however, as Shishkin dug way deeper than he'd ever had to before to overhaul the bold-jumping, strong-travelling Energumene who looked to have matters under control until close home.
A Timeform rating of 165 is the benchmark of top-class form on Timeform's scale but Shiskin and Energume both passed the 180 barrier in the Clarence House Chase, putting themselves in the same sort of bracket as great two-mile chasers from earlier in the decade such as Moscow Flyer (peak master rating 184), Azertyuiop (182) and Well Chief (182).
That was the last time Shishkin shone at a trip around two miles, but he offered reminders of his exceptional ability in the Ascot Chase and Aintree Bowl last season, while Energumene has won the last two editions of the Champion Chase at Cheltenham.
173 Altior (2019)
Given Altior dominated the two-mile division and racked up a record-breaking 19 wins in a row, it's perhaps surprising that he has only one Clarence House Chase on his CV.
Altior produced many memorable moments during his sparkling career, though his victory over Fox Norton and Diego du Charmil in a three-runner Clarence House Chase probably won't be regarded by many as a particular highlight.
It was a routine task for the 1/10 favourite and one Altior completed with ease, coasting to a seven-length success without needing to be at the sort of level he had shown when winning his first Champion Chase the previous season.
171 Sprinter Sacre (2013)
Sprinter Sacre earned a Timeform rating of 192 - the highest awarded in the modern era over jumps - when slamming Sizing Europe by a remarkable 19 lengths in the 2013 Champion Chase.
Prior to that Sprinter Sacre had also registered wide-margin wins in the Tingle Creek and Clarence House Chase, landing those contests by 15 lengths and 14 lengths respectively.
Sprinter Sacre didn't have to show anything new in the Clarence House - which was run at Cheltenham after Ascot's card was frozen off the previous weekend - but he laid the foundations for one of the most impressive performances in Timeform's experience.
171 Master Minded (2009)
Few horses have burst onto the scene like Master Minded who won the Champion Chase by an astonishing 19 lengths as a five-year-old, earning a lofty Timeform rating of 179.
He would never match that sort of figure again but he posted plenty of top-class displays, winning eight Grade 1s in total, including a couple of editions of the Clarence House Chase.
Master Minded had to work hard to beat Somersby in 2011, getting the verdict by a short-head, but he was much more authoritative in 2009, slamming an admittedly thin field by 16 lengths.
168 Un de Sceaux (2016)
Un de Sceaux won the Clarence House Chase a record three times between 2016 and 2018, with his best performance in the race on Timeform's figures coming in the first of those editions.
Un de Sceaux had fluffed his lines when unseating on his seasonal reappearance at Leopardstown a month earlier but he made no mistake at Ascot, registering a comfortable five-length victory over Sire De Grugy who had won the Tingle Creek Chase earlier in the campaign.
That was arguably Un de Sceaux at his very best, though there were plenty of top-class efforts to choose from in a career that featured ten Grade 1 victories.
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