Koktail Brut

Elliott's yard at Longwood in County Meath has sent out 209 winners this season alone, which gives you a sense of the scale and ambition of the operation Koktail Brut is part of. When Elliott singles out a horse on a stable tour and says he isn't short of pace and is one to look forward to, that is worth noting. He made his first career win at Fairyhouse in December 2024, and returned to the same track to win again in November 2025 — a horse who clearly performs well at that venue when in the mood.

That November win tells you something about the horse's character. Elliott described it as nip and tuck all the way to the last fence, with Koktail Brut giving away a weight penalty and still finding enough to hold on. He called it a good performance, and the language he used afterwards — "a lovely horse for the future," "bought to be a big chaser down the road" — suggests this is a horse the team see as a long-term project rather than one being squeezed for quick wins.

The recent form, however, is harder to ignore. Koktail Brut has not won in his last 6 races, finishing as low as eighth on a couple of occasions. Elliott has acknowledged the horse did plenty wrong in his last win — keen up front, not exactly textbook — and suggested that stepping up in distance could help him settle and show his best. A potential tilt at the Lawlor's of Naas, a competitive and well-regarded race, was floated as an option.

Most regular partner Danny Gilligan has ridden him to 1 win from their 5 races together, winning 1 in 5. The horse raced just yesterday, so he is firmly in training and active. The profile that emerges is of a horse with genuine ability, a trainer who believes in him, and a form line that has dipped — but with Elliott suggesting a change of trip and a chasing career ahead, this may be a horse it pays to keep watching.