Koktail Brut

The horse has a clear affinity with Fairyhouse, winning there on 1 December 2024 for its first career success, and then returning to the same track almost exactly a year later to win again on 30 November 2025. Finding a track that suits you is one of the quiet arts of horse racing, and Fairyhouse seems to bring out something in this horse that other venues haven't quite managed to unlock.

Recent form tells a more complicated story. The last six runs read 8-8-4-–-7-1, which means two poor showings, a place, a gap in racing, another disappointing run, and then that Fairyhouse win. It is the kind of form that would test anyone's patience, but the win is only four months old, the horse is still active, and at six years old there is no reason to think the story is finished.

Danny Gilligan is the regular jockey, having ridden Koktail Brut in 5 of its 12 races and winning once together — a 20% win rate, or 1 win from every 5 rides. That is a reasonable record between a jockey and a horse, suggesting a working partnership that has produced results even if it hasn't clicked every time.

The trainer is Gordon Elliott, one of the most powerful yards in Irish racing, based at Longwood in County Meath. Elliott's team has sent out 209 winners this season alone — a number that is almost difficult to process. To put it simply: this is a yard that wins races for a living, and having a horse in that operation, even one still finding its best form, means it is in very capable hands.