Sean Bowen Saturday rides blog - October 31, 2026

Wetherby 2.18 – Strong Leader

I’m really looking forward to getting back on Strong Leader, particularly as he won this race last year.

He beat Take No Chances by a neck 12 months ago, but his task is probably a little tougher this time around, as he’s 4lb worse off with that rival.

That will make things slightly harder, but he ran a great race in the contest last year and I’m hoping he can put in another strong performance. It’s great to get back on a horse who has already shown he can win this race, and hopefully he can give us another good run.

Wetherby 4.03 – Sledgehammer

Sledgehammer is a horse I don’t know a great deal about yet, but he arrives here in good form after winning quite nicely on his first start for Adrian Keatley last time.

That was an encouraging performance, and hopefully he can build on it at Wetherby. I’m looking forward to getting a better feel for him, and if he can reproduce that last run, he should go there with another good chance.

My season so far and the battle with Harry Skelton

Things are going great at the moment, and I’m happy with how the season has started. I’ve ridden 80-odd winners already, so there’s plenty to be pleased about. The next milestone is obviously a hundred winners for the campaign.

Harry Skelton is absolutely flying, though, and naturally I’d love to be a little closer to him in the jockeys’ title race. He’s riding plenty of winners, so it’s a challenge, but all I can do is keep my foot on the gas and continue working hard. I had things my own way last season, but I am enjoying the battle with Harry this time around.

There’s a long way to go, and the most important thing is to keep riding winners whenever the opportunities come along. I’m pleased with how things are going, and hopefully I can maintain that momentum over the coming weeks and months.

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