Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , assistant trainer to Willie Mullins, David Casey, has previewed their team ahead of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival , and whether their team can rattle a deep Supreme field with praise for Old Park Star.
Casey has also spoken about the Arkle chances for Kopek Des Bordes, the big decision ahead for them with Lossiemouth and their team ahead of the Turners Novices' Chase.
Elsewhere, he gave his assessment ahead of the Champion Chase race noting their own Majborough as the current front-runner.
Supreme Novices' Hurdle
Deep Supreme Field
It isn’t fully decided, but I’d imagine the likes of Leader d’Allier and King Rasko Grey, who ran a brilliant race at the DRF , are the two that would look like they'd be going there.
Mighty Park could possibly go there, too. Even though we haven't got a favourite, I think King Rasko Grey ran brilliantly at the DRF and was just touched off. I think he can improve plenty. Leader d’Allier was very disappointing at Christmas, but he improved hugely to win at Punchestown , while Mighty Park was very impressive when he won at Fairyhouse .
So, we have chances going into the race. I think we've got some nice horses going in there, but it looks like a really deep Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the moment.
Old Park Star
He's been impressive, and he looks a fine specimen of a horse. He's been impressive in what he's done so far. Obviously, Nicky knows what it takes to win a Supreme , and he's bullish about him. So, you've got to have a huge respect for it.
Arkle
Arkle Chances: Kopek Des Bordes
The fact that Kopek Des Bordes has only had one run [over fences] means he’s lacking the experience of some of the other runners in the race. It's not ideal, but it is what it is. It's the cards we've been dealt.
Ability-wise, I think he's bang up there. He doesn't lack for anything ability-wise. Ideally, you would have preferred a little more experience, but that's what we have. He’s in great order.
Champion Hurdle
Constitution Hill OUT Opens Up Lossiemouth Decision
It opens it up a lot! We have a few in there. I’m not sure which way Lossiemouth will go yet. She was very good at the first two runs of the season, and with those runs, you'd probably be looking at a Champion Hurdle . She was disappointing the last time behind Brighterdaysahead , and on that form, you'd be saying, maybe not.
What do we think? We can have her much better. She didn't show up on the day. We think we can have her much better than that, but she is in the Mares ’.
Turners Novices’ Chase
Turners Novices’ Chase
We’ve got the likes of Sortudo, who was second in the Grade 1 at Naas ; he could probably run here. Sober won a two-mile race, and a step up in trip would definitely help him. He's won over two miles six on the Flat and staying trips on the Flat, so I think two and a half or two five would definitely help him. I think he'd go there with a chance.
We could have the likes of Saint Baco, who disappointed at Naas . On the day he wasn't right, he would definitely have a big chance as he looks as if he's in much better form at the moment. A couple more, maybe Laurets d’Estruval and a horse called Free Spirit, they could all run in this.
Maybe it doesn't look as strong as the Supreme, but there are some good horses in it, maybe Ballyfad and Skylight Hustle, both from Gordon’s [Elliott] yard and are already Grade 1 winners, could pitch up. It is a deep race, but I think the likes of Sortudo , Sober and Saint Baco could put up a good show.
Brown Advisory
Final Demand Bounce Back
Kaid d’Authie won well at the DRF . Final Demand was disappointing in that race when he was only third. We think we can have him better hopefully, and he seems in good enough form at home. Kaid d’Authie is one we always thought was a very good horse. We put cheek pieces on him, and they seemed to do the trick the last day.
We'd have a couple more too - Kitzbuhel was very impressive at Kempton at Christmas. He didn't back it up when he got as far as think only the third or fourth fence in Sandown the last day, but he didn't have a hard race, obviously, because of it. They are all in the mix in what is a good Brown Advisory.
Champion Chase
Majborough Champion Chase Front-Runner
Il Etait Temps disappointed at Ascot , and he's on a bit of a retrieval mission. Hopefully, he can be better than that. He was very good at Sandown last year and at Sandown this year when he decisively beat Jonbon twice. But what Majborough did at Leopardstown was pretty exceptional, and I thought if he put up the same performance, he'd be very hard to beat.
He used to be a bit keen, and we put cheek pieces on him. We felt that when he was in front on his own, he used to idle, and we think that's the reason he made the mistakes. So, at Christmas, we tried getting a bit of cover, and we sent him in behind Solness . He jumped better, but we didn't use his attributes. He stays well, and he can go at a very high cruising speed, so we put the cheek pieces back on.
Mark Walsh was confident that he wanted to go a good gallop; he needs a good, really strong, even gallop, and he got that the last time with the cheek pieces on. We just felt that if he was going to be in front, then the cheek pieces would keep him focused and keep him concentrating on the fences in front of him, and it appeared that way, and he put up a huge performance.
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