Sean Bowen,what's going on with his Cheltenham rides?

I mentioned that yesterday at the track. Seems very odd. One suspects his agent mustn't be doing a great job. He isn't even getting a ride in every handicap. Not easy to get on the graded horses as WN/GE/HdB/NH etc have lots of "their" jockeys. But one would think some would give him a crack. That said......Banbridge may have a decent chance if FtF is out.

Come from behind merchant, in a festival where nothing is coming from behind with the bad starts etc.

moast have stable jockeys yfdsc

Like Brian Hughes before him, its quantity over quality for him as he chases Championships. That focus fails to cement relationships with the bigger British NH yards.

Olly Murphy would be his "main" stable and they simply dont have the calibre of horses to compete at the big Festivals.

I was amazed the other day to see he had never ridden a Cheltenham Festival winner.

Not even picking up any decent "spares"
You can't win at the festival 6 wide and at the back tbh

How he thought Banbridge could win from there I dont know.

All week you've had to be up with the pace or certainly there or thereabouts.

Perhaps the horse just doesnt act on the course.

His Cheltenham record on the whole is very disappointing, lower than 7% i think since he started riding
Plus his retained trainer is adverse to training winners at a lot of the marquee meetings,ie Cheltenham,Ascot,Newbury,Aintree,Kempton where a fair few of the big prizes on offer are ran, seems strange to me considering how much they continually pay for store horses...
Maybe they both are a Monday-Friday operators at the smaller tracks.

He rides them like he's at Uttoxeter in the mud, can't be dropping them at last with a circuit to run

Used to ride for Nicholls at the start of his career.

Wonder if he might get on a few more at Ditcheat once Cobden gets going with JP, but hardly ridden at all for the yard over past few years.

surely Haiti couleurs gives him his best chance today from the front?

You can't win at the festival 6 wide and at the back tbh

Tell that to Martator

At the Festival he is just an also ran. Wasn't Banbridge fancied? Never looked likely. The showboating tactics he gets away with during the week don't work on such a competitive stage. It doesn't help that Murphy also has a nothing record at the Festival.

Copy and Paste every ride, Halti Coolers has no chance, outpaced and might run on for 4th or 5th

Il Etait Temps came from a fair way back (which lends credence to the fact that Mark Walsh went too hard up front).

I'm struggling to find any fancied ride he has had this week?
He's very much like AP riding for Pipe... quantity over quality (with the odd special horse infrequently thrown in).

Banbridge was 2nd fav, never got in the race.

Banbridge had previously finished 7th and 9th at Cheltenham over fences.
How on earth was it second favourite?!
Could only have been because Joseph won the previous race.