Port Joulain

The ground matters enormously with Port Joulain. On wet, muddy ground he has won 2 of his 4 races — a 50% win rate that tells you he is an entirely different animal when conditions suit. Half his races on heavy ground have ended in victory. That is not a coincidence; that is a horse who genuinely thrives when conditions are testing and others are finding it hard work.

His trainer is Willie Mullins, arguably the most powerful racing operation in Ireland, a yard that has sent out 220 winners already this season alone. When a trainer of that calibre says a horse is improving and that he sees him as a future chaser, it is worth paying attention. Mullins has been candid that Port Joulain is not always the easiest — he is fussy with his mouth and can be a tricky ride — but he has also been clear that jumping fences rather than hurdles is where this horse belongs.

The most recent evidence backs that up. When Port Joulain won at Fairyhouse in January 2026, jockey Paul Townend was effusive about how well he jumped, describing how his technique allowed him to control the race from the front and win on his own terms. Townend pointed out that although the trip that day was shorter than ideal, Port Joulain can step back up in distance — and that when a horse jumps like that, everything becomes easier. The stumble at Punchestown before that, where he got tired late on, looks less like a failure and more like a horse learning his job.

His recent form — two wins from his last six races, with a third place mixed in — suggests a horse rounding into shape rather than fading. He raced just yesterday, which means he is active and in the mix right now. With soft ground, a longer trip, and a fence in front of him, Port Joulain looks like a horse whose story is only getting started.