Welsh rider Sean Bowen has made a fast start to the 2024/25 British Jump Jockeys’ Championship, as he has already hit the 65 winners mark for the campaign.
Can Sean Bowen go one better this year and become Champion Jockey? #ITVRacing | #TheOpeningShow | @Sean_Bowen_ pic.twitter.com/Kj5Ny7fgoQ
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) October 26, 2024
Bowen, who is bidding for his first title, finished second in the championship last season behind Harry Cobden. An injury midway through the campaign hindered his chances of lifting the trophy.
Bowen Eying up Big Prizes This Season
As the number one rider for trainer Olly Murphy, Bowen will be involved in some of the biggest races on the 2024/25 calendar. One of the most exciting horses he will ride is Strong Leader, who is 12/1 in the Cheltenham odds for the 2025 Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
The horse results show that Strong Leader won the Grade One Aintree Hurdle at the Grand National meeting last season with Bowen on board. The seven-year-old hurdler is likely to be involved in the Long Walk Hurdle and Long Distance Hurdle in the early stages of the new campaign.
Bowen is also riding regularly for his father Power Bowen and Martin Keighley this season, so his number of rides at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival could be much higher than in previous years.
Winner At Showcase Meeting
Last season’s British Jump Jockeys’ runner-up rode a winner at Cheltenham’s opening fixture of the season. He partnered Lisnamult Lad to victory at the Showcase Meeting in a valuable handicap chase.
Bowen opted to make the early running on board Lisnamult Lad at Cheltenham, and it proved a winning move. The seven-year-old chaser remained at the front of the field throughout the 2m4f contest, eventually scoring by just under a length ahead of the Christian Williams-trained Weveallbeencaught.
The Showcase Meeting winner is likely to return to Cheltenham again for the November Meeting where he will be vying to defy a rise in the ratings, with a back-to-back success at the Home of Jumps Racing.
Rivals To Bowen This Season
The biggest challenger to Bowen’s title bid this season is expected to be former Champion Jockey Harry Skelton. Like Bowen, Skelton has already hit 60 winners for the season before November.
Wow – Valgrand puts up a remarkable performance for Grade 2 honours at @CheltenhamRaces!@DSkeltonRacing | @HighclereRacing pic.twitter.com/ALsQSxMI6P
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 25, 2024
Skelton has benefited from his brother Dan Skelton’s strong summer campaign. The pair had two winners at Cheltenham’s Showcase Meeting, with the highlight for the brothers being their triumph in the Grade Two Sharp Novices’ Hurdle with Valgrand.
Both Bowen and Skelton will need to dethrone the current champion, Cobden, this season. With 164 winners, Cobden had a career-best year in the 2023/24 campaign. He hit the front of the standings in February, and he was not caught.
Cobden will now be bidding to become just the fourth rider this century to defend their title. He will also aspire to ride 200 winners in a season. Brian Hughes was the last jockey to achieve that impressive feat in 2022.
The final Jumps meeting of the 2024/25 season comes from Sandown on the 26th of April. Bowen, Skelton and Cobden will all be hoping to still be in contention for the title going into that fixture.
