While Willie Mullins was disappointed to see Kopek Des Bordes suffer another defeat, he feels there were positives to take from his performance.
He said: “Looking at them in the parade ring, I thought the winner probably pulled out sharper than we did and I hope we’ve got a lot of improvement to do.
“I was much happier with the way he jumped. It was still not perfect, but I think a better pace and once he gets more confidence in his own jumping he’ll be good.
“I’m keen to stay over fences. Some people are saying go down the Champion Hurdle route, but I’m always keen to keep going down the chase route until you have to stop. He’ll run again over fences, possibly at Christmas.”