Champagne Mahler

Both wins at Gowran Park were delivered by Darragh O'Keeffe, who has ridden him in 8 races and won 2 of them — a win rate of 1 in 4, which is a genuinely strong return for a horse of this level. That partnership clearly works. After the most recent win there in March 2025, trainer Henry De Bromhead was generous in his praise of O'Keeffe, saying the jockey was brilliant and that the horse was tough when it mattered. De Bromhead also noted that Champagne Mahler needs conditions to be right — he loves the ground when it suits him — and described him as a real chaser with a future over fences. He has been less convincing when conditions or distance haven't played to his strengths, stopping sharply at Cork when De Bromhead had expected him to relish the longer trip.

De Bromhead trains out of Knockeen in County Waterford, one of Ireland's most respected yards, and has sent out 107 winners this season alone — so while Champagne Mahler is not the stable star, he is in extremely capable hands. Recent form has been mixed: he has not won in his last 6 races, and a seventh-place finish at Gowran last November — beaten by a stablemate, no less — prompted De Bromhead to acknowledge he was a little disappointing but likely to come on for the run. He raced just one day ago, so he is clearly being kept busy heading into what the team hope is a productive spell. If the right race at the right track comes up, Gowran Park feels like the obvious place to look.