Sean Bowen: Little Miss Dante has solid chance at Haydock
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Jockey and Coral ambassador Sean Bowen is optimistic about his sole ride at Haydock on Saturday and gives his thoughts on the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
He also has a couple of horses to look out for over the festive period.
She’s a mare I think plenty of, and although she takes a step up in grade here, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if she took it in her stride. She was quite green on her first few starts, but she seems to be getting better with racing, and I think she’s strengthening up and maturing every day.
She goes up in trip slightly too, but I don’t expect that will be a problem based on how she finished her race at Uttoxeter last time. We know how testing it can get at Haydock, so this will probably be the heaviest ground she’s encountered, but I think she’s fairly versatile ground wise and don’t envisage that being a problem either.
There are some nice unexposed mares in there, but I wouldn’t swap Little Miss Dante for anything, and I think she goes there with a really solid chance.
Shiskin the one for King George VI Chase
The King George does look a fairly hot race now, but it is a shame that Gerri Colombe won’t be coming over for it now. I think he’d have had a huge chance if he were running, but I don’t think the connections of the other runners will be too unhappy that he is staying in Ireland.
Allaho and Bravemansgame both have very solid claims on their best form, but I think if I could ride anything in the race, I’d definitely go for Shishkin. I think he’s the most talented horse in the race, and his record fresh is pretty good, so I wouldn’t be too worried about him coming here without a prep run.
It’s obviously not ideal that he refused to race at Ascot last time, but I’m sure Nico [de Boinville] will be doing everything within his power to prevent that happening again. In reality, there isn’t much you can do as a jockey if a horse doesn’t want to run, but they were pretty much stood still at Ascot last time, and that gave Shishkin the opportunity to just plant his feet.
I suspect Nico will want to keep him moving and on his toes down at the start on Boxing Day, so providing he gets away OK, then he has to have a massive chance of winning it.
A couple for the festive period
It’s going to be a busy old time for us jockeys over the next few weeks, and running plans are up in the air, with horses entered all over the place. A horse called The Same has a few entries, and I’m not sure exactly where he’ll be heading, but I’d say he’ll have a good chance wherever he goes. He was very impressive on his first start over fences at Market Rasen last time, and I think he’s a horse we can all look forward to for the remainder of the season.
I don’t know if I’ll be riding him, but I’d say there’s a good chance we could see For Pleasure turning out again over the festive period. He could hardly have been more impressive at Fakenham the other day, and no matter what the handicapper does, he could still be well ahead of his mark based on some of his previous form. I’m sure Olly will be calling the handicapper this week to find out where we stand with him, but he’s certainly one who could go in again in the near future.
I’d just like to take the opportunity to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and hopefully we’ll have another successful year in 2024!
Sean
