Willie Mullins is backing both Kopek Des Bordes and Final Demand to defy their respective challenges when they head to the Cheltenham Festival next month.

The former cemented his reputation as a star of the future when landing the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 12 months ago, but will return to Prestbury Park with the history books against him when he clashes with Lulamba in the Arkle, having run just once over fences in public.

However, having sidestepped the Irish Arkle, Kopek Des Bordes caught the eye of work watchers in a recent schooling session at Punchestown and Mullins hopes he can prove himself on the opening day of the showpiece meeting in the Cotswolds.

Mullins said: “I would prefer him to have more experience of course, but I was very happy with how he worked in Punchestown the other day – somebody described it as an explosive piece of work and it wouldn’t be my style to describe it like that, but he worked very well.

“I put him in with a few other horses and they went two miles at racing speed, that was our objective, and I wanted to bring him to a race meeting on a raceday as well.

“I didn’t want the hardship that he might get by running in the Irish Arkle at Leopardstown. I didn’t want him to be pushed out, but I wanted him to have a hard bit of work and he got that and the further and faster he jumped the better he jumped.

“We’re up against it on statistics, but Well Chief won the Arkle off one run and so did Western Warhorse when he beat Champagne Fever.”

While it is experience that could prove Kopek Des Bordes’ achilles heel, Final Demand will have to bounce back from a disappointing display at the Dublin Racing Festival, where he was well held by stablemate Kaid d’Authie.

Far from going back to the drawing board, the master of Closutton will now tinker with the seven-year-old’s routine at home in a bid to rekindle the spark that has seen him already notch three Grade 1 victories and be heralded as a future Gold Cup contender.

Mullins added: “We were all underwhelmed when he won at Limerick at Christmas, but Patrick (Mullins) said to me he had a look around and thought he was going to win anyway and he didn’t want to turn him over at the second-last or the last. I said that was fair enough.

“I was hoping to see more from him the last day and there wasn’t. Was it the testing ground? He looks like a horse that wants that sort of ground and would be better in it.

“I’m thinking are we missing something at home, so we’re changing a few things. I said to my team we were able to turn Vautour around in four or five days and we have a whole month to turn this guy around, so that’s what we’re doing.

“We think he has the ability, we just need to get that spark back into him.”