Sean Bowen: Little Miss Dante has solid chance at Haydock

It’s obviously not ideal that he refused to race at Ascot last time, but I’m sure Nico [de Boinville] will be doing everything within his power to prevent that happening again. In reality, there isn’t much you can do as a jockey if a horse doesn’t want to run, but they were pretty much stood still at Ascot last time, and that gave Shishkin the opportunity to just plant his feet.

I suspect Nico will want to keep him moving and on his toes down at the start on Boxing Day, so providing he gets away OK, then he has to have a massive chance of winning it.

A couple for the festive period

It’s going to be a busy old time for us jockeys over the next few weeks, and running plans are up in the air, with horses entered all over the place. A horse called The Same has a few entries, and I’m not sure exactly where he’ll be heading, but I’d say he’ll have a good chance wherever he goes. He was very impressive on his first start over fences at Market Rasen last time, and I think he’s a horse we can all look forward to for the remainder of the season.

I don’t know if I’ll be riding him, but I’d say there’s a good chance we could see For Pleasure turning out again over the festive period. He could hardly have been more impressive at Fakenham the other day, and no matter what the handicapper does, he could still be well ahead of his mark based on some of his previous form. I’m sure Olly will be calling the handicapper this week to find out where we stand with him, but he’s certainly one who could go in again in the near future.

I’d just like to take the opportunity to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and hopefully we’ll have another successful year in 2024!

Sean

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