Sean Bowen Saturday rides blog: 'That's part of being a National Hunt jockey'

With Cheltenham Festival 2025 kicking off in less than two weeks, leading jockey and Coral ambassador Sean Bowen has five rides on Saturday at Newbury, and he's previewed them in his latest blog.

I had a nasty fall at Catterick earlier this week which forced me to give up my rides on Wednesday. Fortunately, it has not kept me out of action for any longer than a day. I have been a little sore over the last few days, but that is part and parcel of being a National Hunt jockey. 

I have five rides on Saturday at Newbury on Greatwood Gold Cup Day.

He started the season well, scoring over 2m5f at Carlisle, which is a stiff track. He then struggled at Market Rasen and Warwick, two sharper tracks. Hopefully, being back on slow ground and up in trip, it should suit him. If he comes back to his early season form, he has a chance.

I didn’t ride this horse when he broke his maiden at Exeter, but I’ve watched the race, and he looked keen that day. He didn’t do much when he hit the front either. I’ll try to keep him switched off for as long as possible, as I don’t want to hit the front too soon. It is his first run in a handicap, so I am not sure how he will fare off this mark, but he has improved with every start so far, and we are hoping he will do the same again.

This is a horse who I think is very well handicapped, but we have yet to see it. Last time was a very bad run. He is going up in trip now and this bigger field may suit him. He’s got bottom weight on his back here and I do think he has an each-way chance if he produces anything close to what he can do.

He has been successful twice since having a wind-op. He has obviously gone up plenty in the weights for his last win, as he won cozily at Lingfield. This is a much hotter race than he has encountered so far, but his last win gives us a lot of confidence, as I think he would have won that day even with an extra three stone on his back.

She was impressive when winning her bumper on her debut at Wincanton. She cantered in the race, beating Hill In Brazil, who takes her on again here. She has the strongest piece of form in this race, and if she does something similar, she will be hard to beat.

We are less than two weeks away from the Cheltenham Festival, and although I won’t iron out my plans until a couple of days before each day, it is looking like I will have rides across the four days at the meeting.

I’ve been able to maintain my lead at the top of the Jockeys’ Championship, so hopefully I will have a decent cushion going into the Festival. It is always great to ride at the meeting, as the buzz is just like nothing else in the sport. Olly Murphy will have a few runners across the week, and I am sure I will be on board a few of those.

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