Fermoy's McCarthy family dream of more Cheltenham glory with Kopek Des Bordes

Kopek Des Bordes is back at Cheltenham for the Arkle a year after his success in the Supreme Novices Hurdle. "It'll take a fair horse to beat him," trainer Willie Mullins recently told owner Charlie McCarthy

CJ McCarthy on Kopek Des Bordes winning the Michael O'Sullivan Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2025: "To be from Cork and to win a race named after a Cork man, to win it, there were a lot of emotions." Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

A YEAR on from a “very emotional” success in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the enthusiastic owners of Kopek Des Bordes have high hopes their pride and joy can become a dual Cheltenham Festival winner by landing the spoils in the Arkle Novices’ Chase on Tuesday.

For Fermoy's McCarthy family, winning last year’s Festival curtain-raiser was special for number of reasons, not least the fact the race was run in memory of Michael O’Sullivan, a fellow Corkonian who had tragically died a month earlier as a result of injuries sustained from a fall at Thurles.