Sean Bowen Friday rides blog: 'No reason he cannot be competitive'

Coral ambassador and leading jockey Sean Bowen gives this thoughts on his five rides on Friday at Newbury.

With Robbie Dunne out injured, I’ve picked up the spare ride on Classic Anthem in the second race on the card. He was beaten less than a length at Sandown last time out on his chase debut. Off the same mark here, there is no reason he cannot be competitive.  

She looked like she was going to win well on her first start but then fell. Since then, she has done nothing but win and couldn’t have done much more in those two races. On paper, she doesn’t look to be the strongest of the two James Owen horses, as Sam Twiston-Davies has chosen to ride Ambiente Amigo. That said, if she takes another step forward, hopefully she can be in the mix at the finish.

This is obviously a very good race. My horse has a run over fences under his belt so that will help. He ran well at Carlisle, finishing second to Johnnywho. This is a tough race that he has been thrown into, but he is a nice horse, and I am convinced he will turn into an even better chaser as the season progresses.

I am very excited to get back on this horse. He is the star of Olly Murphy’s yard. The step up to 3m has brought out improvement. We are hoping he will turn out to be one of the leading 3m hurdlers this season. 

Dan Skelton is trying to convince us that Langer Dan is a better horse in spring. I am not sure that is the case, but we will see in this race. Strong Leader is ready to go and there shouldn't be any excuses for him in terms of fitness.