Willie Mullins: 'Kopek Des Bordes blew my mind at Leopardstown and Ted Walsh reckons he's another Golden Cygnet'

Kopek Des Bordes blew the mind of Willie Mullins at the Dublin Racing Festival, and the record-breaking champion trainer divulged details of a phone call he received from Ted Walsh after the race in which the former broadcaster compared the unbeaten youngster to Golden Cygnet. 

Irish racing legend Vincent O'Brien hailed Golden Cygnet the "best hurdler I've ever seen" after the Edward O'Grady-trained starlet won the Supreme Novices' Hurdle in 1978, and Kopek Des Bordes is now evens with most firms to win the festival opener 47 years later after a spine-tingling performance in the Grade 1 Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday. 

That 13-length defeat of stablemate Karniquet was arguably the most visually dazzling display of the Dublin Racing Festival, and nobody was more impressed than his trainer. 

"It blew my mind, especially against a field of top-class horses," Mullins said of the performance of the unbeaten Kopek Des Bordes. 

The trainer then went on to reveal details of an interesting phone call he received from a very familiar voice, saying: "Ted Walsh rang me the following morning and he said he hadn’t seen a performance like that since Golden Cygnet, which is something huge for someone like Ted to say.

Kopek Des Bordes: eases to victory in the Tattersalls Ireland Novice HurdleCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"It's probably the first time he’s rung to say anything like that. Ted has a razor-sharp memory. There's no grey in Ted’s vocabulary. It’s black or white. For him to come out and say something like that was a huge statement, I think."

Paul Townend also spoke glowingly of Kopek Des Bordes when giving his debrief after the wide-margin win. 

Mullins said: "Paul got off him after the race and told me ‘he ran away with me three times in the race’. 

"Mostly if a horse runs away once, their winning chance is gone. When the loose horse came up, I thought ‘this is going to drive this fella mad’, which it did. He went on by two or three lengths at the bend before the second-last hurdle, Paul got a grip on him, and away he went again. We would never ask a horse that question at home."

Kopek Des Bordes was given an official rating of 157 following Sunday's success, 9lb higher than Romeo Coolio, who won a Grade 1 at Leopardstown over Christmas and is second favourite for the Supreme with most firms.

Final Demand and Paul Townend win the Grade 1 Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle at LeopardstownCredit: Patrick McCann

Twenty-four hours before Kopek Des Bordes lit up Leopardstown, Final Demand did likewise. 

He, too, is unbeaten and won the opening race of the Dublin Racing Festival, the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle, by a dozen lengths in the manner of a top-class prospect. 

He is now 15-8 favourite for the Turners Novices' Hurdle at the festival, but only 7-2 for the Albert Bartlett on the final day. Mullins had no hesitation whatsoever in revealing what race he would prefer to go for with the six-year-old, though. 

He said: "I don’t want to put him under the stress of an Albert Bartlett – it's not a race I’d want him to go for. He’s had only two runs and it’s a tough race. I think two miles and five furlongs will be a big enough question to ask him at this stage of career."

Mullins went on to compare him to one of his earliest flagbearers, Florida Pearl, saying: "He looks like a chaser. He must be 17.2 hands, and he's as strong as any horse I’ve had. He looks more like Florida Pearl in that he's so strong through the body. 

"Galopin Des Champs is much more evenly balanced and has a lighter frame. This fellow is a big unit. I'm happy to go for the Turners before going novice chasing next season."

Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Cheltenham, March 11)
Sky Bet: Evs Kopek Des Bordes, 5 Lulamba, Romeo Coolio, Salvator Mundi, The New Lion, 9 Workahead, 10 Final Demand, 12 Finiculi Funicula, Kawaboomga, Kiss Will, 16 bar

Turners Novices' Hurdle (Cheltenham, March 12)
Sky Bet: 15-8 Final Demand, 11-4 The New Lion, 7-2 Kopek Des Bordes, 6 The Yellow Clay, 7 Romeo Coolio, 8 Kawaboomga, James's Gate, 10 Potters Charm, Sixmilebridge, 16 bar

Read these next:

'There aren't many who can do that' - Willie Mullins wowed by Kopek Des Bordes as he is slashed to 7-4 Supreme favourite 

Three beaten horses from the Dublin Racing Festival who it can pay to follow next time 

Expert jury: which Leopardstown performance impressed you most on Sunday with the Cheltenham Festival in mind? 

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