Sean Bowen New Year's Day rides blog: 'He certainly has each-way claims'

Coral ambassador and leading jockey Sean Bowen gives this thoughts on his five rides on New Year's Day at Cheltenham.

He is a lovely big horse who is sure to come on for this experience on his first start under Rules. We think he has a big future as he is a point-to-point winner, and he will eventually stay much further than this trip. 

He got into a good rhythm when he won here earlier in the season, and nothing got to him. I’ll be hoping for something similar again here. This is obviously a tougher assignment, and he needs to bounce back from his fall at Navan last time. He is a capable horse, so he certainly has each-way claims.

It was a funny race at Market Rasen last time as he never really travelled in that race. Then, he looked like he would win turning for home. Unfortunately, he got outbattled in the home straight. The New Course here at Cheltenham should help him.

Off ratings, Thunder Rock will have a big chance in this race. He pulled up with a deliberating heart last time at Cheltenham, which was obviously a concern. That is something that can correct itself immediately after. If he turns up with his best form, he will run well. But after what happened last time, it would just be great to see him run well.

He showed a great attitude when winning at Aintree. He will need to step up from that to be competitive here, but he is a very straightforward horse. There is no reason why he can’t take another step forward in a race that has some unexposed horses from big yards.

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