The Grade 1 Queen Mother Champion Chase at two miles at Cheltenham Racecourse on Wednesday is the second consecutive meeting between England’s Shishkin and Ireland’s Energumene. They represent the best from both countries in two-mile chases, which is essentially the sprint division for jumpers. There was little between them when they met for the first time in the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase at 2 1/8 miles at Ascot on Jan. 22, with Shishkin winning by a length as the 5-6 favorite but needing the extra furlong to catch Energumene, the pacesetter. The layout at Cheltenham, with a stout uphill finish, suggests Shishkin may have an advantage over Energumene in the Queen Mother. Shishkin, trained by Nicky Henderson, has won his last 10 starts, including two Grade 1 races for novices at Cheltenham in 2020 and last year. Energumene, trained by Willie Mullins, will have his Cheltenham debut in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. There are six other runners in the field of the $520,400 race, but Shishkin, 10-11 with bookmakers as of Tuesday, and 10-3 Energumene will dominate the betting. Politologue, 11, won a weak running of this race in 2020 and was 66-1. Chacun Pour Soi, scratched in 2020 and a well-beaten third last year, was the third choice at 6-1. Cheltenham has its customary seven-race program beginning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. There are two other intriguing Grade 1 races earlier on the program – the $175,600 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at 2 5/8 miles and the $227,600 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at 3 1/8 miles. The Mullins-trained Sir Gerhard, at odds of 2-3 on Tuesday, is considered one of the Irish bankers, or best bets, for the four-day Cheltenham festival, which continues through Friday. The 7-year-old gelding, who likes to set the pace, is unbeaten in two starts over hurdles. Irish-trained runners are expected to dominate the 28 races at Cheltenham this week, but the English-trained Bravermansgame is favored to win the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase and extend his unbeaten record over the tougher obstacles to five races. Trained by Paul Nicholls, Bravermansgame was 5-2 on Tuesday to beat 11 rivals, including 7-2 L’Homme Presse who has won his last four starts for trainer Venetia Williams of England. The $97,500 Glenfarcas Chase at about 3 3/4 miles may not have much of a purse, but it is the most unique race of the week, run over an infield course of fences, banks, hedges, and timber before rejoining the main course for the final three furlongs. The 12-year-old Tiger Roll will be favored in his fifth consecutive appearance in the race, having won in 2018, 2019, and 2021. He was second in 2020. Away from Cheltenham, the immensely popular Tiger Roll has won two runnings of the famous English Grand National at Aintree in 2018 and 2019.