Sean Bowen blog: ‘He really will need to bounce back to form’
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In the latest Sean Bowen blog with Coral, the leading jockey looks forward to this weekend’s action and his Kelso rides on Saturday.
Sean Bowen blog
He is getting on a bit now Brewin’upastorm, but I do still think there’s plenty of ability there. This is his first start in a handicap for a little while, and he does carry plenty of weight, but he should definitely appreciate these calmer waters even though it is a competitive little race.
I actually thought his run at Cheltenham last time was quite a good effort, and even though Bob Ollinger hacked up that day, this lad wasn’t far behind Marie’s Rock who has franked that form since. I know he has his fair share of weight here, but I’d certainly be hopeful he can be very competitive.
Jumping has been a bit of an issue for Thunder Rock of late, so I’m hoping this step back up in trip will help him in that regard. He’s a good horse, but I just think he found things happening a bit quickly for him at Musselburgh last time, so this stiffer test should suit him. That was a step back in the right direction last time though, so I’m very hopeful he can build on that here.
He does have to carry a penalty here, and giving weight away to horses like Monbeg Genius and Minella Drama won’t be easy, but I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Thunder Rock yet, so I’m hoping he can go well.
I’d have to say Chasing Fire has disappointed me to be honest, because I had really high hopes that he could make up into a graded performer. It is still early days for him over fences, but things just haven’t panned out for him as I’d hoped. He keeps taking steps back rather than forward, and I really hoped he’d kick on from that win at Uttoxeter earlier in the season.
He goes up slightly in trip at Kelso this weekend, so hopefully that will see him return to the form he showed a few months back. Olly hasn’t rushed him back since his last run, and that does seem to have freshened up a little, but he really will need to bounce back to form if he’s going to win this.
