Top Jumps Jockey Sean Bowen returns to talk us through his rides for the weekend, and relieve his fantastic ride on Noble Yeats in the Many Clouds Chase last weekend. He also discusses who he would side with in the International Hurdle, and who he’ll be cheering on in the England vs France game on Saturday evening!
We have sponsored Sean for a while now, and we’re extremely excited to unleash his blog on site to give you an insight into the weighing room, the latest on his big weekend rides and opinion on all the big races! Follow Sean’s blog each week for his thoughts exclusively.
About Sean
At 25 years old Sean has now established himself as one of the top riders in UK Jumps racing. He was Champion Conditional Jockey in 2015 and has gone from strength-to-strength ever since. He won his first Grade 1 with on If The Cap Fits in 2019 in the Liverpool Hurdle, and his latest one was on Metier in the Tolworth Hurdle last season. Sean currently sits second on the Jump Jockey Championship.
NOBLE YEATS PERFORMANCE
I was very impressed with Noble Yeats performance on Saturday. I couldn’t believe the way he quickened when I pulled him out two from the finish, even though he had already done everything nicely in the race. I haven’t ridden any Gold Cup horses but he’s obviously a very, very good horse to stay the way he does and quicken in the manner he did on Saturday. He’s being talked about for the Gold Cup at Cheltenham and that’s obviously very exciting, so I’m looking forward to riding him again in the future.
My Rides This Weekend
IONTACH CHEVAL (3.00 Cheltenham – Friday)
I was due to ride Back On The Lash in the Cross Country Chase but that race has been lost to the weather sadly, which is very frustrating. That leaves me with just the one ride on Friday – Iontach Cheval. He was a good winner at Warwick last time but I don’t know a huge amount about the horse. He carries a light weight here and this is a competitive field, but I would’ve thought based on his last run that he should be in with a very good chance.
LONGVILLE LILLY (12.47 Hereford – Saturday)
She didn’t do much on her first start over hurdles, but hopefully will know more here. She probably will be one for handicaps down the line.
AUDITORIA (1.22 Hereford)
I like this horse. She used to race too keen so I tried to switch her off last time but she switched off a bit too well! She then ballooned the first and that blew her chances in the race early on. I do think riding her a bit differently here off a light weight should see her in a better light. I’m expecting a much improved performance here and she’s in with a decent chance.
GO DANTE (1.57 Hereford)
I’ve not ridden him before but I’d like to think he’s my best ride of the weekend. Trainer Olly Murphy thinks a lot of this horse and he’s been running well. He returned with a slight fracture in his pelvis after that Challow Hurdle run so he’s been given time to recover. We took him to Warwick to school over hurdles the other day and he was brilliant. He will end up a well handicapped horse in the future and time will tell whether it’s this Saturday or further in the future.
BLACK POPPY (2.32 Hereford)
I don’t know a huge amount about him but his form over hurdles he improved with each run. He ran well on his first start over fences too and that was his first start of the season, so you’d like to think he should come on for that run. If he does, he will have a very good chance in here.
DROP HIM IN (3.07 Hereford)
This race is wide open now and he ran very well on his first run since joining Olly Murphy’s yard. A lot of Olly’s horses have improved for their first run so he should do even better this time around. I’d like to think he has a good chance in here.
SCRATCH CARD (3.42 Hereford)
He was slightly disappointing on debut but previously to that he had a good racecourse gallop at Ffos Las before that run. Trainer Rebecca Curtis was looking forward to running him at Wincanton so it was disappointing that he could only finish seventh that day. He’s turned out again quickly here so obviously there was no serious issue with him, I’ll speak with Rebecca in the morning to find out the reasons why he didn’t run up to scratch that day and hopefully he’ll come on for the run and put in a better performance here.
International Hurdle Verdict
This is a wide open race. Epatante is a deserved favourite but KNAPPERS HILL has been impressive and he looks to have really got the hang of hurdles, having been a bit disappointing at the start of his hurdles career. I was really impressed with his performance in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton last month, and with Paul Nicholls and Harry Cobden in such good form he would probably be my pick, but it’s a difficult race to call.
Hobbies Away From Racing
I’ve been brought up surrounded by racing. When I used to come in from school the racing was on tv, and every time I walked outside the house there were horses in the yard, so I’ve been brought up on horses, horses and only horses!
I enjoy going to the gym so I try to go there as often as I can and I do follow the football a bit – I’m watching the World Cup at the moment and will watch the England vs France game on Saturday night. Being Welsh we didn’t do great but if Wales weren’t going to win it, it would be great to see England win it. There’s always a bit of rivalry between the Welsh and English but it would be brilliant for the country if England were to lift the trophy, there would be some party for sure! My Mum’s mother was actually Danish so in the house we’ve been cheering on three countries, so all our hopes are pinned on England now.
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