Sean Bowen Saturday rides blog: 'This is a great opportunity to start the meeting with a winner'

Sean Bowen has four rides at Leopardstown at Day One of Dublin Racing Festival. The Coral ambassador previews them all in his latest blog.

• Santo Sospir - Leopardstown - 1.15 race odds

• Immediate Effect - Leopardstown - 1.50 race odds

• Barra Rua - Leopardstown - 2.25 race odds

• Firefox - Leopardstown - 3.30 race odds

I am excited to be riding at the Dublin Racing Festival this weekend. These are the meetings you want to be involved in as a jockey. The atmosphere at Leopardstown for the DRF is electric, and I am sure it will be no different this weekend.

Unfortunately, I won’t be partnering Haiti Couleurs in the Irish Gold Cup. Rebecca Curtis informed me on Thursday morning that they had some logistical issues with the boat, which would have made the trip to Dublin a long one. That’s a real shame, but there will be big days ahead with him. Rebecca is now planning on running him in the Denman Chase at Newbury next weekend. That will be his final prep run before the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

I am staying over in Dublin for both days of the meeting, and I start on Saturday with four rides, and hopefully I can pick up a winner or two.

1.15 – Santo Sospir

After back-to-back victories at Punchestown and Clonmel, respectively, Santo Sospir is stepping up to Grade One level. Gordon Elliott clearly thinks a lot about the horse for him make that leap into this company. I watched his victory at Clonmel, and he did it very comfortably.

Willie Mullins’ runner, Doctor Steinberg, looks to be one to beat on paper following his Grade Two success at Navan. However, my horse should be open to further improvement, and this is a great opportunity to start the meeting with a winner. He is my best chance of the day.

1.50 – Immediate Effect

Immediate Effect had some decent form on the Flat when with Sir Mark Prescott. He made a winning start over hurdles at Punchestown as a three-year-old, where he appeared to be staying on strongly at the finish, which is a good sign. This is just his second start over obstacles, so he will need to take a huge step forward to score in a Grade One.

Gordon Elliott has three runners in this race, with Mange Tout being his best chance. I think we will all have to beat Narciso Has, who is a course and distance winner here. He looked very good when winning over the festive period.

2.25 – Barra Rua

Barra Rua broke her maiden at Tramore earlier this season and then has struggled a little in graded company. She drops down to Listed level here, so that may help a little. The betting suggests she is up against it, but you can never discount anything that is trained by Emmet Mullins.

3.30 – Firefox

Although I am disappointed not to be riding Haiti Couleurs in the Irish Gold Cup, it is great to still be involved in the race with Firefox. I rode this horse at Ascot in a graduation chase back in December. We finished second behind Iroko. He made a mistake at the penultimate fence, and that just took it out of him.

This horse ran to a very high level over hurdles. He was third in the Supreme and second in Grade One races at Aintree and Punchestown. His form over fences as a novice chaser has also been good, with solid performances in the Drinmore Novice Chase and WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse.

I know the task we face here, taking on Galopin Des Champs, Affordale Fury, Inothewayurthinkin and others. He is up against it on ratings. That said, he is a talented horse, and if the race is run to suit, he may be capable of picking up some nice prize money and outrunning those odds.

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