Kopek Des Bordes suffers shock Punchestown defeat
However, a couple of sketchy leaps during the early stages set the tone for a disappointing display and he was a spent force turning for home.
Having been ridden more conservatively, 18-1 shot Irancy arrived on the scene travelling strongly under Mark Walsh and powered clear from the final flight to score by nine lengths, with the front-running Salvator Mundi boxing on to beat Karbau to third and Kopek Des Bordes a well-beaten fourth.
Mark Walsh and Irancy hand the Champion Trainer @WillieMullinsNH another winner at the top level, this time in the Grade 1 @KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle – his gelding flying home after travelling sweetly just off the pace 👏 pic.twitter.com/bZBEyqnXYQ
— Punchestown (@punchestownrace) April 29, 2025
Mullins said: 'We took all the gear off Salvator Mundi today and it worked as far as his jumping was concerned, but he just got running too fast and they couldn't keep that up. Paul, knowing how good Salvator Mundi is, couldn't let him go.
'Irancy has always been a good horse and met with a setback after winning here earlier in the season, but it might have been the best thing to have happened as he came here fresh.
'I gave Kopek Des Bordes a nice break after Cheltenham and probably gave him too much and should have brought him to somewhere like Ayr or Perth!
'Looking at him in the parade ring, I thought he was carrying too much condition and that showed at today's pace.'
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Scottish Sun
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- Scottish Sun
Shocking moment jockey is hit in the head after horse crashes into railings in chaotic race at Punchestown Festival
THIS is the shocking moment a jockey hit his head after his horse crashed into the railings at Punchestown Festival. Haggard was forced into the railings during the chaotic 2.30pm on Tuesday. 4 A jockey was struck by a railing Credit: Racing TV 4 The incident occurred at the 2.30pm at Punchestown Festival Credit: Racing TV 4 The rail first hit Jack Hendrick Credit: Racing TV 4 It then continued to fly and it jockey Rob James on Haggard Credit: Racing TV The horse was forced off the track as Fralmonti Bilbery was trying to gain ground. However, it collided with the railings and dislodged three sections, which caused it to interfere with the racers. Haggard's jockey Rob James tried to dodge the obstacles but was hit on the head. Jones managed to stay on the horse while other jockeys had to take evasive action to avoid the railings. Following the incident both Haggard and Fralimonti Bilbery were pulled up. Commentators on Racing TV tried to explain the chaos with one saying: "It's Fralimonti Bilbery who looks like he's trying to get a run up the inside of Haggard here. "They're crossing a road, the rail gets dislodged. I don't know, is it by one of the runners up ahead? "It's very, very hard to tell from this angle. But would you look at that?" JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS It appeared that both horses were unharmed in the moment. This could have been helped by the Punchestown railings being made of white plastic. America's oldest horse racing track lays abandoned after closing down following 170 years of history They are slotted into each other instead of glued, which means they can be safer in case of these incidents. Fans reacted to the shocking moment on social media. One posted: "Amazed everyone stayed on!" A second wrote: "Jesus that's horrible to see lucky someone wasn't seriously hurt." A third commented: "Carnage." A fourth said: "That could of been alot worse than what it was, thankfully looks as though all jockeys and horses walked away unscathed." Another added: "That was very eventful, lucky no one got hurt." 22/1 favourite Transprint went on to win the race with Turnedupdevolume finishing second and Kockiel Synge in third. Meanwhile, Punchestown has already has some surprising moments. This includes 18-1 shot Irancy winning the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle.
The Sun
30-04-2025
- The Sun
Shocking moment jockey is hit in the head after horse crashes into railings in chaotic race at Punchestown Festival
THIS is the shocking moment a jockey hit his head after his horse crashed into the railings at Punchestown Festival. Haggard was forced into the railings during the chaotic 2.30pm on Tuesday. 2 2 The horse was forced off the track as Fralmonti Bilbery was trying to gain ground. However, it collided with the railings and dislodged three sections, which caused it to interfere with the racers. Haggard's jockey Rob James tried to dodge the obstacles but was hit on the head. Jones managed to stay on the horse while other jockeys had to take evasive action to avoid the railings. Following the incident both Haggard and Fralimonti Bilbery were pulled up. Commentators on Racing TV tried to explain the chaos with one saying: "It's Fralimonti Bilbery who looks like he's trying to get a run up the inside of Haggard here. "They're crossing a road, the rail gets dislodged. I don't know, is it by one of the runners up ahead? "It's very, very hard to tell from this angle. But would you look at that?" JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS It appeared that both horses were unharmed in the moment. This could have been helped by the Punchestown railings being made of white plastic. America's oldest horse racing track lays abandoned after closing down following 170 years of history They are slotted into each other instead of glued, which means they can be safer in case of these incidents. Fans reacted to the shocking moment on social media. One posted: "Amazed everyone stayed on!" A second wrote: "Jesus that's horrible to see lucky someone wasn't seriously hurt." A third commented: "Carnage." A fourth said: "That could of been alot worse than what it was, thankfully looks as though all jockeys and horses walked away unscathed." Another added: "That was very eventful, lucky no one got hurt." 22/1 favourite Transprint went on to win the race with Turnedupdevolume finishing second and Kockiel Synge in third. Meanwhile, Punchestown has already has some surprising moments. This includes 18-1 shot Irancy winning the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle.
The Herald Scotland
29-04-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Kopek Des Bordes suffers shock Punchestown defeat
However, a couple of sketchy leaps during the early stages set the tone for a disappointing display and he was a spent force turning for home. Having been ridden more conservatively, 18-1 shot Irancy arrived on the scene travelling strongly under Mark Walsh and powered clear from the final flight to score by nine lengths, with the front-running Salvator Mundi boxing on to beat Karbau to third and Kopek Des Bordes a well-beaten fourth. Mark Walsh and Irancy hand the Champion Trainer @WillieMullinsNH another winner at the top level, this time in the Grade 1 @KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle – his gelding flying home after travelling sweetly just off the pace 👏 — Punchestown (@punchestownrace) April 29, 2025 Mullins said: 'We took all the gear off Salvator Mundi today and it worked as far as his jumping was concerned, but he just got running too fast and they couldn't keep that up. Paul, knowing how good Salvator Mundi is, couldn't let him go. 'Irancy has always been a good horse and met with a setback after winning here earlier in the season, but it might have been the best thing to have happened as he came here fresh. 'I gave Kopek Des Bordes a nice break after Cheltenham and probably gave him too much and should have brought him to somewhere like Ayr or Perth! 'Looking at him in the parade ring, I thought he was carrying too much condition and that showed at today's pace.'
