Bowen bags timely victory after whip ban

SEAN Bowen, still smarting from receiving an 18-day ban – six of them suspended – for accumulated whip offences, won Cheltenham’s Cross Country Chase on Saturday, riding Back On The Lash.

Horse and jockey had won last season’s equivalent race in November 2021. Darting through on the inside after the fifth-last fence to take the lead was a significant move as he managed to retain the advantage, holding off the opposition gamely by threequarters of a length.

Bowen resumed his association with Noble Yeats in the Cotswold Chase, finishing a never nearer third after getting outpaced at the top of the hill before staying on up the home straight.

While it was a little disappointing at first sight, he was only beaten two and a half lengths conceding weight to the winner and the second, and the race wasn’t run at the strong pace that would have suited him better.

The Gold Cup and the Grand National are still firmly in connections’ sights.

Cap Du Nord was a gallant second for Christian Williams in the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster, a race he’s finished third in twice before.

He was very unlucky, being squeezed for room and baulked repeatedly in the last half-mile.

Every time Jack Tudor switched him to avoid congestion, something else swerved into his path. His turn in the winner’s enclosure can’t be far away.

At Lingfield, David Probert got Berkshire Breeze home in front at the horse’s ninth attempt. Though the four-year-old’s elusive first win was an easy one, the form of this particular race may not add up to much.

James Davies rode the winner of Sunday’s two-mile novice hurdle at Fontwell, coming up the stands rail to gain a last-gasp shorthead success aboard Nick Gifford’s Churchills Boy. It was his third win on the horse. He has now won a point-to-point, a bumper and two hurdles from just five outings.

Sean Bowen edged closer to his first century of winners by bagging number 97 for the season at Southwell, where Strong Leader completed a hat-trick in novice hurdles after convincing victories at Uttoxeter and Aintree.

Giving 12 pounds and more to his rivals, he coasted home by 15 lengths at odds of 2-7.

Sterner tests for him lie ahead.

Our next fixture at Ffos Las is on Thursday, February 9. There’s a meeting at Chepstow this Friday (February 3).