Sean Bowen New Year's Day rides blog: 'I think he has an excellent chance of successfully following up'

Sean Bowen has five rides at Cheltenham on New Year's Day. The Coral ambassador previews them all in his latest blog and reacts to his Coral Welsh Grand National victory.

• Shannon Royale - Cheltenham - 1.25 race odds

• Glengouly - Cheltenham - 2.00 race odds

• The Real Whacker - Cheltenham - 2.35 race odds

• Double Powerful - Cheltenham - 3.10 race odds

• Solly’s Gold - Cheltenham - 3.40 race odds

1.25 – Shannon Royale

Shannon Royale was an expensive purchase a few years ago. He won a novice chase for Gordon Elliott but has been disappointing since then. This will be his third run since moving to Ian Donoghue’s yard. He has run ok in those two starts, but he will need to take a big step forward here to be competitive.

2.00 – Glengouly

Glengouly produced a huge performance to win the December Gold Cup. He had no weight on his back that day, and he took full advantage. This horse has shown he loves it around this course. He has a similar weight allocation this time around in a smaller field. I think he has an excellent chance of successfully following up.

2.35 – The Real Whacker

The Real Whacker has been a legend for his yard. He was a little disappointing in the Charlie Hall Chase, but he ran well over hurdles with a big weight on his back the start before. He is a top-class horse on his day, but he obviously must put that disappointing run behind him.

3.10 – Double Powerful

Double Powerful’s form over fences has deteriorated. He put in a good run at the start of the season but has failed to finish on his last two starts. Neil Mulholland is now going back over hurdles with his horse. He produced an excellent victory here just over 12 months ago. Hopefully, his progression over hurdles is not over, and he can run another big race at this course.

3.40 – Solly’s Gold

Solly’s Gold is trained by a master (James Owen), who knows exactly what he is doing with his bumper horses. He scored nicely on his debut at Wetherby. It’s very difficult to say what he beat that day. He looks well-bred, and when you are on a James Owen-trained horse in these sorts of races, you always feel like you have a good chance.

Coral Welsh Grand National Victory

When I look back on the 12 months that have gone by, it has been an amazing year for me. I picked up my maiden Jockeys’ Championship title back in April. That was a fulfilment of a dream.

Another goal of mine since I got into the sport was to win the Coral Welsh Grand National, and I did that last Saturday. It was an amazing day, and I could never have scripted it to go any better. To win on a Welsh-trained horse, as a Welshman, with my family there, was special. Haiti Couleurs loves racing and jumping, and as soon as he got into a nice rhythm, it looked like nothing could get past him.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is now the plan for Haiti Couleurs. I am not sure what Rebecca [Curtis] has in mind for him before then, but he may even head straight to the Festival. He is a quality horse, and the Gold Cup is something to look forward to with him. He deserves a shot at the Blue Riband race.

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