Sean Bowen Saturday rides blog: 'Hopefully he can outrun his odds'

Coral ambassador and leading jockey Sean Bowen has four rides at Chepstow on December 27, and he previews them all in his latest blog. He also gives his thoughts on Alnilam, who runs at Kempton for Olly Murphy.

Knight Templar - Chepstow - 12.30 race odds

Ballybreeze - Chepstow - 13.05 race odds

Sonic Pioneer - Chepstow - 13:40 race odds

Haiti Couleurs - Chepstow - 14:50 race odds

12.30 – Knight Templar

This will be my first ride on this horse. He ran well on his comeback run at Exeter, finishing less than a length behind the winner. Unfortunately, he didn’t step up on that on his latest outing at Kempton.

When studying this horse’s form, I noticed he was a winner on this day 12 months ago in a juvenile hurdle. Hopefully, he can find some luck on this day again and outrun his odds.

1.05 – Ballybreeze 

This horse is a bit in and out, but he is a two-time course and distance winner here, so he has shown he enjoys it at this place. I should imagine he will step forward on his seasonal reappearance at Cheltenham. 

The ground was a little too soft for his last time at Prestbury Park, and it should be in his favour for this run. It’s a small field, and there is very little between the leading runners in the race, so on his best day, he would be more than capable of winning this.

1.40 – Sonic Pioneer

I was really pleased with Sonic Pioneer at Kempton on his debut win. His jumping was good, and he travelled so smoothly. I am excited to see what he can do next. Martin Keighley has opted to step straight up to Grade Two level, so he obviously believes in the horse.

Macktoad and Manlaga both come here with big reputations, too, but I like my horse, and I wouldn’t swap him for anything else in this field. 

2.50 – Haiti Couleurs

Rebecca Curtis felt Haydock came too soon for this horse following his prep run at Newbury. We are hoping that didn’t take too much out of him. If it hasn’t, he will have an excellent chance in the Coral Welsh Grand National. He won two big staying races last season (National Hunt Challenge Cup and Irish Grand National), so he has proven himself to be one of the best staying chasers at this level.

It is no surprise that he has one of the highest weight allocations in this race, but it doesn’t concern me too much, as the ground is not going to be too testing this year. I’d rather be on one of the highest-rated runners in the field than one at the bottom end of the weights. 

This race is a huge deal in Wales. My brother won it in 2017, and I’d love to add my name to the roll of honour board too. There will be a huge crowd at Chepstow, and the atmosphere will be great across the day.

1.55 – Alnilam

Obviously, I can’t be at Kempton to ride Alnilam in the Grade Two Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase. He didn’t quite get the run of the race in the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase on his last start. He made a big mistake five out, and that all but ended his race. I am confident he will bounce back from that run. He had some good form leading up to that contest, and he comes here with a solid chance.

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