Kopek Des Bordes

That debut over fences came at Navan in November 2024, where jockey Paul Townend was immediately struck by what he had under him. Townend described a horse who attacked his fences instinctively but cleverly — not reckless, just brave and quick to learn. "The engine is definitely there," he said afterwards, which from a jockey as experienced as Townend is not a throwaway compliment. That was enough preparation. Four months later, Kopek Des Bordes was sent to Cheltenham for the Arkle.

Willie Mullins, the trainer, is not a man given to making excuses. But even he acknowledged the boldness of the plan — pointing out that very few horses in history have gone to the Arkle off just one run over fences. To compensate for the lack of race experience, Mullins put together a private workout that was designed to replicate, as closely as possible, what a competitive race at Leopardstown would have done. It worked well enough that he pressed on. At Cheltenham, Kopek Des Bordes ran a race that surprised even those who believed in him. A slight stumble after the final fence — what Mullins called a "genuflection" — may have been the difference between second place and winning a Class 1 race at the Festival. Even so, Mullins came away with his faith in the horse entirely intact. "To do what he did today was tremendous," he said.

The broader numbers back up the excitement. From just 9 races, Kopek Des Bordes has won 5 and placed in 8 — a win rate of 56%, or more than 1 in every 2 races entered. He has won 3 of his 7 races alongside Townend, who clearly has an instinctive understanding of the horse's attacking style. The yard behind him — Mullins's operation in Co Carlow — has sent out 230 winners this season alone, so standards are not low. For Kopek Des Bordes to stand out in that environment says something real. At six years old, with barely a handful of races over fences behind him, he already looks like a horse built for the biggest days.