Three Card Brag

The headline moment came at Cheltenham on 25 October 2025, when he landed a top-class Class 2 race. Cheltenham is the sport's most celebrated venue, and winning there at that level is the kind of result trainers spend careers chasing. Gordon Elliott, who operates out of Longwood in County Meath and has sent out a staggering 209 winners just this season alone, admitted the horse had been knocking on the door in these big races for years. The problem, Elliott explained, is that every time Three Card Brag wins or runs well, the authorities raise the weight he carries in future races — making the next win harder than the last. It is the sport's equivalent of being promoted every time you hit your targets, until eventually the job becomes nearly impossible.

On very wet, muddy ground, Three Card Brag is a different animal entirely. He has won 2 of just 3 races in those conditions — a 67% win rate that no amount of number-crunching can make look like a coincidence. If the forecast is wet, he is worth watching very closely.

At the very highest level — the top Class 1 races — he has yet to convert, going 0 from 3. His run in the Grand National, the most famous race in the world, gave a clue as to why. Jockey Sean Bowen reported that Three Card Brag was almost too enthusiastic, jumping so fluently and travelling so well through the early stages that he burned through his energy reserves long before the finish came into sight. There is a horse capable of winning a Grand National somewhere in there; the challenge is persuading him to save something for later.

Jack Kennedy, who has ridden him six times and won once together, will be familiar with that challenge. Three Card Brag raced just yesterday and remains an active, live contender — a nine-year-old who has learned a great deal, but perhaps not quite everything yet.