Ideal Des Bordes

His two career wins tell an interesting story. The first came at Kempton Park in May 2024, and the second at Wincanton in January 2025 — both over fences, and both times with Nico de Boinville in the saddle. That partnership is worth noting: de Boinville has ridden Ideal Des Bordes in 10 of his 14 races and won 2 of them, a win rate of 20%, or roughly 1 in every 5 rides together. For context, that is a meaningfully better return than the horse's overall record suggests, which points to a genuine working relationship rather than a casual arrangement.

What makes the Wincanton win particularly relevant is what Henderson said about it afterwards — that it had taken longer than hoped to get the horse out that season, but that he considered him a proper staying chaser with real ability. That phrase, "a proper staying chaser," is not throwaway from a trainer of Henderson's standing. It signals a horse being pointed at longer distances — three miles and beyond — where stamina becomes the decisive factor and raw speed matters less. Henderson has since confirmed that three-mile chasing is the plan for this season.

The concern, honestly, is that Ideal Des Bordes has not won in his last six races, and at the Class 3 level — one step below the very top tier — he has yet to score in five attempts at that grade. His recent form reads a little inconsistently. But Henderson's stable tour comments in October 2025 suggested he is well capable of better, and with a horse who jumps well and has a trainer willing to be patient, the results may simply be waiting on the right conditions to arrive.