Sean Bowen Saturday rides blog: 'I'm excited to see how he handles Cheltenham'

Sean Bowen has six rides on Trials Day at Cheltenham on Saturday, January 24, 2026. The Coral ambassador previews them all in his latest blog.

• Barlovento - Cheltenham - 12.05 race odds

• Sonic Pioneer - Cheltenham - 12.40 race odds

• Booster Bob - Cheltenham - 1.15 race odds

• Where It All Began - Cheltenham - 1.50 race odds

• Strong Leader - Cheltenham - 3.35 race odds

• The Blue Room - Cheltenham - 4.10 race odds

12.05 – Barlovento

Barlovento heads to Cheltenham after producing a really strong performance at Kempton last time out. I was disappointed not to win on him the first time I rode him, but he more than made up for it on his latest start. He jumped and travelled beautifully.

He’s a lovely horse and very much one for the future, but hopefully there’s still a bit left in the tank for Saturday. He’s progressing nicely, and I’m excited to see how he handles Cheltenham.

12.40 – Sonic Pioneer

I ride Sonic Pioneer in the juvenile hurdle, and his win at Kempton couldn’t really have been more impressive. Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan next time in a Grade One at Chepstow, which was obviously very disappointing. Martin Keighley has since explained there were a couple of reasons for that run, so we’re hoping he can bounce back.

It’s never easy to go into a race like this after being pulled up last time, but if he can return to his Kempton form, he’s certainly capable of getting his season back on track.

1.15 – Booster Bob

Booster Bob ran a cracking race at Newbury, and he was much more straightforward than he had been last season. He travelled well, jumped fluently, and always looked like the winner throughout the race.

If he can reproduce that level of form, I’d be hopeful he can run another big race. He’s definitely learning with experience and seems to be going the right way.

1.50 – Where It All Began

I’m on Where It All Began in the cross country race. I rode this horse in the Coral Welsh Grand National a couple of years ago, and I thought he was going to run a huge race until he made a big mistake.

He can be very good on his day, although he does have the odd off day. If he turns up in the right form, he doesn’t look badly handicapped, and I’m hoping the switch to the cross country discipline can spark a bit of life back into him.

3.35 – Strong Leader

Strong Leader will need to improve to reverse his form with Impose Toi, who has beaten us the last two times. Cheltenham remains a bit of a question mark for him, as he hasn’t always looked his best around the track.

That said, he was much more straightforward last time with the cheekpieces on, and hopefully they’ll help him again here. He still has something to prove at Cheltenham, but we’re hoping for a positive step forward.

4.10 – The Blue Room

I finish the day on The Blue Room, who I thought ran a very good race last time. I think we could have given No Drama This End a proper race if we’d jumped the second-last better. But, once we missed it, the chance was gone.

He’s a lovely horse, but this is a very competitive contest. It’ll be interesting to see where he fits in against some smart opposition, and Cheltenham should tell us plenty.

Olly Murphy also has Adonedeal in this race, who is unbeaten in two starts under Rules. I rode him to victory at Plumpton last time. He is a nice horse, but he will need to take a big step forward here.

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