Ruby Walsh has given his opinions on the novice hurdle races at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, including Kopek Des Bordes against Salvator Mundi in the Sky Bet Supreme.
On the fifth episode of this year's Paddy Power Media's From The Horse’s Mouth podcast ‘Cheltenham Countdown’, Walsh was speaking alongside host Tom Nugent and well-known journalist Rory Delargy and runs the rule over the Supreme, Turners and Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle.
Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
Kopek Des Bordes has learned a lot from run to run, Ruby?
"He did – he learnt that he is actually supposed to jump over the hurdles rather than through them from his first run to his second. But look we all saw him last week at the Dublin Racing Festival – he was really impressive, put a lot of distance between himself and a decent field and I think he left a huge impression on anyone that watched him.
"He’s obviously quite short in the betting - is there a negative for him? Of course there is. There’s always a negative if you go looking for it. Only two runs and probably the nature to get a bit fizzed up and a bit hot. He did get quite buzzy before being saddled in the parade ring at the Dublin Racing Festival.
"He’ll go to Cheltenham - he’ll probably leave Closutton on the Saturday, he'll spend Saturday night, Sunday night and Monday night in Cheltenham. Three days away from home, new environment, especially come Monday evening, more so Tuesday morning, atmosphere and noise, you know it all starts to build up.
"Look, he's in the first race but they're just small things that won’t be factored into his price."
WATCH: Kopek Des Bordes' jaw-dropping victory at the DRF
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Would Kopek Des Bordes be top of the pile?
"Yeah, we’re no different to anybody else – it’s what you see. What Salvator Mundi shows you at home is probably a bit more than Kopek Des Bordes does. But what they do on the gallop at Closutton doesn’t really matter, it's what they do on the racecourse.
"I did think Salvator Mundi did most things wrong at Punchestown and still managed to win the Moscow Flyer. I think he can be a better horse than that – he’s been to Cheltenham, I think he needs to jump better. When I watched him back I’m not sure his Triumph jumping was exceptional either. I definitely wasn’t blown away by his jumping in Punchestown. But I have watched him schooling since and he does seem to be able to jump better.
"I wish he’d do it on the track but he’s still a fair horse and that’s a decision for Paul. You’d be fairly sure he’ll go and ride Kopek Des Bordes but Salvator Mundi would be a good ride for somebody else.
"They wouldn’t work together - Salvator Mundi obviously wears a hood, he’s a bit keen, he works on his own. People say 'oh why wouldn’t you [work them together]?' but if you push the two of them in together at home to find out which is the best one, the chances are you’ll find out but you could leave your race there as well.
"So you don’t want to leave the race on the gallop so they wouldn’t work together - they work with horses that would be a little bit inferior to them.
"I know people are probably thinking about it from a betting point of view – you would think that’s so obvious - but from a training point of view when you’re trying to give both your horses the best chance of winning. They haven't been to any [schooling hurdles] and that could have been a factor in Kopek Des Bordes’s first run at Leopardstown. The fact that they weren’t away from home."
Paddy Power: 5/6 Kopek Des Bordes, 5 The New Lion, 11-2 Romeo Coolio, Salvator Mundi, 8 Workahead, 12 Kawaboomga, Potters Charm, 14 Funiculi Funicula, 16 James’s Gate, Kappa Jy Pyke, Kel Histoire, 20 Karbau, Karniquet, Miami Magic, 25 bar.
Turners Novices’ Hurdle
Final Demand, your assessment of what he did at the Dublin Racing Festival?
"I thought he was impressive – it was two six on pretty slow ground. He’s been a really good jumper, I thought he looked a thorough stayer winning at the Dublin Racing Festival.
"The once I sat on him, he does ride like a stayer, I know Willie’s keen not to go Albert Bartlett with him and I think for the overall development of the horse, I can see why he’s doing that, but do I necessarily think he’s guaranteed to be quick enough for a Turners, I’m not sure.
"There have been plenty of tactical Turners Novices’ Hurdles – don’t ask me why second day if you get one or two races that were too strongly run on the Tuesday, up in trip to two miles and five, it just can get messy the Turners can.
"They can go a little bit slower and I'm not sure of the field size here and I think there's some good horses in there that might just be quicker than him and I think The New Lion has a good turn of foot. He was the fastest horse in the Challow.
"And I think Kawaboomga is the same – I don’t know [if he goes here]. To me he couldn’t beat Kopek Des Bordes when Kopek Des Bordes broke every hurdle in Leopardstown so I couldn’t see him beating Kopek Des Bordes. Now Kopek Des Bordes’s jumping so I would be thinking two and a half might suit him and again he could have that turn of foot.
"Ultimately, Final Demand is probably the best horse in here, but that doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to win the race."
Is The Yellow Clay a player?
"Yeah, a tough horse who jumps well - Gordon was humming and haaing whether to take him out before the Lawlors, he thought the ground was too soft for him, he does think he wants a sounder surface...
"You couldn’t rule out The Yellow Clay, Final Demand I think ultimately will be the best horse whether he wins the Turners or not, time will tell.
Paddy Power: 13/8 Final Demand, 2 Kopek Des Bordes, 5-2 The New Lion, 5 Kawaboomga, 7 Romeo Coolio, The Yellow Clay, 8 James’s Gate, 10 Potters Charm, 12 Sixmilebridge, 16 Karbau, Kiss Will, 20 Fingle Bridge, Funiculi Funicula, Inn At The Park, Kaid D’Authie, Kel Histoire, The Big Westerner, 25 bar
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
The Big Westerner?
"All she could do was win, she beat Mozzies Sister who ran respectably at the DRF so I wouldn’t knock her. Beat Argento Boy in a maiden hurdle at Punchestown – all right he disappointed the next day but he subsequently won since then so I’ve ruled out his Christmas run.
"She looks like a mare that can only be improving – she’s huge, she’s raw. She has to be getting better so yeah I can see why she is as short in the market as she is and Henry has won the race with a horse with as little if not less experience in Minella Indo who had been beaten by Allaho in Clonmel before he came here the year he won it.
"So he knows how to do it, I think Yellow Car jumped really poorly at Cheltenham behind Jet Blue and he improved to win the River Don. I thought the horse I took out of the Challow was Wendigo.
"He was never on the bridle, slowly run race, came home really well of Jamie Snowden’s, I think he’s a runner here as well at a price. And the one I like, can’t guarantee he’s going to come here, but I know to ride him it will be the easiest race to ride him in is Jasmin De Vaux.
"Three hurdles early in the back straight that you can just pop over the three, up the top of the hill third last you’d need to jump it somewhere well, long run to the second last I just think there’s loads of time between the hurdles, you could slow him down get him from A to B and he had the class to win a Cheltenham bumper.
"Jasmin De Vaux came from Crawfords, he had him as a younger horse so he would have been really well schooled there whereas Kopek Des Bordes came from the store sale straight into Willie Mullins’s, was prepared for a bumper and then started schooling.
"From the amount of jumping done, Kopek Des Bordes was always going to improve more whereas Jasmin De Vaux would have had a lot more of it done as a younger horse. So no unfortunately for Jasmin, he just can’t move his feet as quickly as his brain is telling him to."
Paddy Power: 7/4 Final Demand, 3 The Yellow Clay, 6 The Big Westerner, 10 Jet Blue, 12 Jasmin De Vaux, 14 Intense Approach, Wingmen, 16 Wendigo, 18 Port Joulain, 20 Argento Boy, Ballybow, Derryhassen Paddy, Fishery Lane, Mozzies Sister, Flicker Of Hope, Yellow Car, 25 bar.
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