Irish Panther beats Kopek Des Bordes at Naas
Irish Panther makes a convincing return to beat 1-4 favourite Kopek Des Bordes by ten lengths in the Grade 3 Barberstown Castle Chase at Naas.
Irish Panther made a winning return at Naas on Sunday, defeating the heavily backed Kopek Des Bordes by ten lengths in the Grade 3 Barberstown Castle Chase. The nine-year-old, trained by Eddie and Patrick Harty and ridden by Kieren Buckley, was sent off at 10-3 against Willie Mullins' 1-4 favourite, but had the race under control before the final fence.
Westport Cove, another Mullins runner, set the early pace in the two-mile contest on good-to-yielding ground. Irish Panther tracked him in second before taking over approaching the second-last, travelling strongly as Kopek Des Bordes moved into the runner-up position. The favourite was unable to close the gap and made no impression after the last, with Buckley able to keep his mount going comfortably to the line.
Westport Cove finished a further 26 lengths behind Kopek Des Bordes in third, with Rockstown Girl last of the four finishers. Bowensonfire was withdrawn, reducing the field from five. The winning time was three minutes 55.6 seconds.
Irish Panther had already shown useful form over fences, including a previous course-and-distance victory and a second-place finish at Punchestown in April. On that occasion Kopek Des Bordes had been in contention when falling at the second-last, leaving the Harty-trained runner to finish behind Salvator Mundi. Sunday's rematch provided a more straightforward comparison, although both horses were returning from breaks of 192 days.
The result was a disappointing seasonal opening for Kopek Des Bordes, whose novice-chase campaign had included second place in the Arkle at Cheltenham and that late fall at Punchestown. The former Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner was expected to develop into a leading two-mile chaser this season. His jumping was not entirely fluent at Naas, but there was no single decisive mistake to explain the defeat, and his next engagement has not been announced.
Irish Panther's success, by contrast, strengthened his position among the established two-mile chasers. He had finished sixth in last season's Champion Chase at Cheltenham, and bookmakers shortened his odds for the same race next March following this performance. Such assessments remain provisional at this early stage of the campaign.
For the Harty stable, the manner of victory was as encouraging as the result. Irish Panther travelled and jumped with assurance against a rival widely expected to win, and his clear-cut success gives connections a sound basis for considering stronger company later in the winter.
By TP Editorial
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