THERE has been more than a whisper of optimism this season that Britain is preparing to mount a properly meaningful challenge against Ireland at the Cheltenham Festival, and, if they do, a big hand in that success could easily be attributed to Wales.
After a period of no outright British Prestbury Cup win since 2015, the task at hand remains a significant one. However, the subtle but definite influence of Welsh racing on the current British fightback is something that cannot be underestimated.
Take day one of last year’s Cheltenham Festival, for example. Of the four British-trained winners on the card, a Welshman rode the feature race winner - Lorcan Williams aboard Golden Ace in a remarkable Champion Hurdle - and a Welsh trainer-and-jockey partnership combined for another, Rebecca Curtis and Ben Jones striking in the National Hunt Chase with Haiti Couleurs.
Curtis famously went on to execute a daring Fairyhouse raid last Easter with the same top stayer in the Irish Grand National (now a leading player in the Cheltenham Gold Cup), while Jones has been having the season of his life in 2025/’26; a King George VI Chase triumph on The Jukebox Man being the highlight.
A quick glance at the British trainers’ listings will show you that the new and ambitious Mickey Bowen operation is inside the top 10 yards in Britain for total number of winners this season, while highly capable handlers like Sam Thomas (fresh from a Grade 2 winner last weekend with Steel Ally), Evan Williams and Christian Williams are all holding their own well inside the top 40 for prize money.
The riding ranks are arguably even stronger for Wales. James Bowen, Jack Tudor and conditional Callum Pritchard are flying high alongside Williams and Jones. However, nobody exemplifies the rising tide of the Red Dragon more than champion jockey Sean Bowen.
At 28 years old, he is well on his way to his second consecutive British jockeys’ title - and he is doing so in an A.P. McCoy-esque landslide.
After Friday’s action at Chepstow, where he booted home a double, he led his nearest pursuer, Harry Skelton, by a staggering 98-winner margin, and his volume of rides is off the charts compared to anyone else in National Hunt racing.
Before Chepstow, Bowen had taken 776 mounts so far in 2025/’26. Compare that to Britain’s second busiest rider, Brian Hughes, who has had 478. For context, the average number of rides so far this season for a jockey in the top 25 in Britain (excluding Bowen) is 280 - only roughly a third of what Bowen has totted up.
It was felt that when McCoy hung up his boots in 2015 that we would be waiting a long time before anyone threatened his immense numbers of winners season after season, but Olly Murphy’s stable jockey might just be the one with the optimum attitude and ability to give those records a scare.
“I probably do 70,000 miles [112,654km] a year in the car - it wouldn’t be much worse than that,” says Bowen, who has been all over Britain in recent days, between Ayr, Newbury, Catterick, Hereford, Leicester and Chepstow.
Target in sight
“My main target at the start of the season was to ride 200 winners, and I’m on 193 now [after five winners since Tuesday at Ayr]. It’s a good position to be in with a couple of months to go in the season.”
Having taken 902 rides in Britain alone last season, and a similar volume on the cards for the current campaign - alongside the obvious riding out duties - how does Bowen maintain mental and physical freshness? After winning championships of his own on the flat, Oisin Murphy previously swore he would never embark on another title charge after the mammoth demands of doing so, albeit he did end up lifting the title again last season.
“I try to look after myself as best as possible,” explains Bowen, whose big handicap successes this season have included a first Welsh Grand National victory (Haiti Couleurs) and the December Gold Cup at Cheltenham (Glengouly).
“I have someone driving me, which is a big help, and my wife, Harriett, does a lot of work for me. I’ve got good people around me. Trying to offload as much work as I can, off the track, away from me, helps in that sense.
“Of course, it is a lot. It’s a mad amount of work that goes into it, really. I’m young, though. All I’ve ever wanted to be is champion jockey and I’m fortunate now that I’m in that position. I don’t want to give it up now. This is where I’ve always wanted to be, so I’m certainly not complaining.”
On his approach to studying form and preparing for such a vast number of races every season, Bowen adds: “I’m in the car a lot, so on the way to and from the races, I’m spending a lot of time watching replays. For example, I’d watch all my rides today and every horse I’m riding tomorrow. I look back at the replays of their last couple of runs and take it from there. It’s all done on my iPad in the car, so I don’t have to take it home with me inside the door. Having a driver is a massive benefit for that ability to get the work done while on the road.
“I’ve a very good agent on my side, Alain Cawley, and I speak to [former Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning jockey] Andrew Thornton every day too. He watches every race and looks through the races, having his say tactically on how they might unfold. He gives his thoughts on it, I give mine. Sometimes we agree and other times we don’t, but it’s great to have someone for those discussions.”
It’s not just British action that Bowen has been required to keep a close eye on lately, as he has quickly developed an excellent record while riding in Ireland.
From just 17 rides on these shores since 2022, he was won an Irish Grand National on Haiti Couleurs, a listed chase at Wexford on Grand National hero Noble Yeats, a competitive Punchestown Festival handicap hurdle on Putapoundinthejar and, most recently, one of the most fiercely-contested handicap chases at the Dublin Racing Festival aboard the Emmet Mullins-trained Backmersackme.
Course success
Earlier this month was Bowen’s first visit to ride at Leopardstown and all bar one of his seven rides finished in the prize money, including a near-miss on Charles Byrnes’ I Started A Joke and a cracking fourth on Firefox in the Irish Gold Cup.
“I love the challenge of coming over to Ireland for a weekend like that. It’s brilliant riding over there,” Bowen says.
“Thankfully, I’ve had a lot of luck with my trips over. Riding the winner of the Irish National will be one of the highlights of my career - full stop. That was a special one. It’s obviously a new challenge any time you go, but I love coming over to Ireland.”
Backmersackme is now vying for favouritism in the National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase market at the Cheltenham Festival, and Bowen has ridden him around that track before when second to Three Card Brag in a valuable handicap chase in October. It’s worth pointing out for the horse’s supporters, however, that Bowen isn’t guaranteed to keep the partnership intact next month.
“There’s a chance Olly might run Wade Out in the National Hunt Chase, so I suppose it might depend on that. I was delighted to have a good day on Backmersackme at the Dublin Racing Festival; he stays well and has run well around Cheltenham before, so I’d imagine that sort of race looks perfect for him, really.
“There were a few I could have ridden in that race at Leopardstown, but Alain was adamant I was on the right horse - even if I told him I wasn’t sure! He assured me the horse would run well and knows what he’s doing, so I’m very lucky to have him. Everyone in Ireland and Britain knows how good Emmet is too. He knows how to get one ready for a big day.”
Given there were a host of winners at last year’s Punchestown Festival for British-based trainers like Harry Derham, Nicky Henderson, Jonjo and A.J. O’Neill, Mike Smith, Warren Greatrex, David Pipe and Alan King - as well as Curtis’ successful Fairyhouse visit - does Bowen think it’s surprising more neighbouring runners don’t make the trip to Ireland? Fergal O’Brien’s Siog Geal was the only British representative at this year’s Dublin Racing Festival (a good fifth in the Paddy And Maureen Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle).
“It was a brave call from Becky Curtis to come over to Fairyhouse, wasn’t it?” Bowen muses.
“The Irish National is a dream race for anyone to win. I suppose the thing is, when the Irish come to Britain and beat us a lot, it’s hard for us to beat you guys in Ireland. It’d be nice to go when we can, but, if you’re travelling, you need to be going there with a competitive chance, because everyone in Ireland knows just how competitive that scene is all the time.”
British fightback
Given Bowen is often called up by Irish trainers saddling runners in Britain, and has gotten a taste for the standard of Irish form at the DRF earlier this month, he is well positioned to have a handle on how strong Britain’s squad compares for this year’s Cotswolds extravaganza.
“I honestly think we have more of a chance this year than we have done for a very long time,” says the four-time Grade 1-winning rider.
“It’s great that the big races look wide open. Take the Gold Cup as an example - it’s the widest open-looking Gold Cup we’ve seen in years. We all know it’s still going to be hard to beat Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins; Gordon has had an incredible season so far. They’ll all have plenty of bullets to fire, but I do feel we have a stronger team this year.”
Elliott has been a mainstay from early on in Bowen’s professional career, and the pair again combined for a winner at Ayr this week. Their relationship is one that goes way back and evokes fond memories for Sean and his Grade 1-winning brother James.
“It’s six and a half hours driving from home to Ayr, so it’s been great to get a few winners on my trips up there lately, including for Gordon,” says Bowen.
“We’ve had a bit of luck together, but we’ve known each other for a long time. When I was pony racing - I must have been 14 - myself and James went over there for a couple of summers riding out when we were kids. He treated us so well. We got to stay in the house and rode out six lots every day.
“We were extremely lucky for how he looked after us. Now, he kept us grafting too… I think I slept for months after coming home from Gordon’s as a kid! He used to turn his phone off for an hour during the day to watch Home and Away, and we weren’t allowed to speak for that hour!”
He continues: “Ever since then, since I became a conditional, we have had a bit of success together and he’s used me plenty. He’s been a big part of how things have gone for me. It definitely helps when Gordon Elliott sends horses over to Britain and he has you riding them, people see that and take notice of it.
“Honestly, Gordon was amazing to us growing up. He even drove us one weekend to the races, had a day out with us. I remember riding a winner and he drove myself and James home. That was a great experience and you learn so much doing that as a kid.”
‘Intelligent trainer’
Bowen’s biggest source of winners in his career (289 overall and 103 last season alone) has been a graduate of the Cullentra academy, the growing force that is Olly Murphy. In the aftermath of some top-drawer winning rides from his stable jockey in the last number of seasons, the Warwickshire-based trainer has waxed lyrical about Bowen’s talents.
To put the shoe on the other foot, how would the rider best describe Murphy?
“Olly is a very, very good trainer. A really intelligent trainer, who leaves no stone unturned in his approach to the game. He’s learned from one of the best and I think has applied a lot of what Gordon does to his training. He’s still young and the team is growing every year.
“Look, we obviously haven’t had real standout Grade 1 winners yet, but I think it’s a yard getting stronger every year. It’s going to come. Even when it comes to sourcing horses, he’s obviously lucky that his dad Aiden is one of the best bloodstock agents of the last 30 years and he’s learned plenty from him.
“Olly knows what he’s looking at when he’s buying a horse and it’s great to see new owners coming to the yard. I definitely believe he can be one of the top trainers anywhere in the next few years.”
The top end of the weighing room looks a whole lot different to when Bowen was crowned champion conditional back in 2014/’15. Of the top 30 jockeys in that season’s championship standings, 18 are no longer riding, including senior figures like A.P. McCoy, Richard Johnson, Tom Scudamore (the title 1-2-3 that season), Barry Geraghty, Noel Fehily, Aidan Coleman, Jason Maguire and Daryl Jacob.
With a number of leading riders also departing the Irish ranks in recent times, anecdotally at least, it seems like the atmosphere has eased slightly in terms of intensity behind closed doors, for all that the jockeys remain ferocious competitors on the track.
“I 100% agree with that - it’s slightly more relaxed nowadays,” explains Bowen. “I suppose I sit next to Harry Cobden every day, the two of us have been champion jockey now and we’re two relaxed people. Others see that and maybe it relaxes the mood a little.
“A.P. was obviously incredible and brought high intensity to the weighing room. Things have changed, I don’t know if it’s for the better or the worse, but I know I was very lucky when I started that I got to ride with the likes of A.P., Dicky Johnson and Davy Russell - Davy was my idol growing up.
“Riding for Gordon as well, myself and James would watch him and talk about his rides more than anyone else. All those guys are idols, Ruby Walsh included, but I always thought Davy was a genius.”
Festival hoodoo
One of Russell’s biggest qualities was an ability to excel where the lights are brightest at Cheltenham, and Bowen is understandably eager to make his own mark on Prestbury Park this spring. While not having had a host of strong chances at the meeting, he has yet to ride a Festival winner. Does that lingering statistic play on his mind?
“Not really,” is the assured response. “Look, I’m going to ride a Cheltenham Festival winner, and hopefully it’s going to come this season. You want to be winning there, but things happen how they happen. It’ll be great when it does.”
Another leading rider, Danny Mullins, endured a long wait before opening his account at the meeting - and did so in a championship race aboard Flooring Porter in the 2021 Stayers’ Hurdle. What a way it would be for Bowen to go one step further and notch a breakthrough Festival win in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Haiti Couleurs.
Having passed his Denman Chase test last weekend at Newbury to remain an 8/1 shot for the Blue Riband event, Bowen is relishing the chance to potentially etch his name into Welsh sporting history.
“Haiti had a great season last year, but he’s definitely improved again this season,” says the man with a career-best 25% strike rate this season.
“He’s in his prime now as a nine-year-old, isn’t he? I’m really looking forward to the Gold Cup with him. I came away from Newbury feeling good. He was a little bit cold when on his own in front, but I thought the nice thing about it was that he never got a hard race. I think it was the perfect prep run.
“It’s such an open-looking Gold Cup. You can make a case for the top 10 or 12 in the betting, the way the race is shaping up. It’s going to be an incredible race and I’m delighted that we’ll hopefully be part of it. Fingers crossed he’ll put his best foot forward.”
On the added significance of riding a horse trained in his native country, he adds: “It’d be brilliant to ride a winner like that for Wales. I honestly believe that Welsh racing is booming at the minute. There’s an incredible amount of good jockeys coming out of Wales and my brother Mickey is thriving since just starting training in his own right. Becky Curtis is obviously doing well, Evan Williams and Sam Thomas are flying along with nice winners and you could name plenty more. So many people are doing well from Wales.
“I don’t think there’s been a Welsh Cheltenham Gold Cup winner since Norton’s Coin at 100/1 - that was a bit of a shock and it was quite a while ago [1990]. To ride a Gold Cup winner for Wales? That would be incredible.”
Name one horse trained in Ireland who you’d love to ride at the Cheltenham Festival
Wouldn’t it be lovely to ride Fact To File in the Ryanair Chase...
What was top of your Spotify Wrapped last year?
I don’t listen to a whole lot of music but I do enjoy podcasts on the way to the races. I will admit, though, there’s not many racing ones I listen to! I put on plenty of football podcasts: Stick To Football, the Gary Neville Podcast and The Rest Is Football. You can get the picture on what I listen to from that! I’m a Chelsea fan.
What is your favourite course and distance to ride over?
I’d have to say three and a half miles over fences at Sandown. I’ve been very lucky in the Bet365 Gold Cup, I’ve won it three times around there, and I just love riding at Sandown full stop. It’s a great jumping track and you have to have a horse capable of jumping properly because of how fast the fences come up. When you’re on a good one, it’s such an exciting place to ride. Ffos Las is close to home and I enjoy my riding there too.
What’s your ideal way to spend a day off away from racing?
There aren’t many of those that I get. I suppose if we get two or three days put together, myself and Harriett go skiing together. We really enjoy that, even if it’s only a short stint.
Give us a dark horse to follow.
Back in November, I won a bumper around Market Rasen on a lovely horse of Olly’s who I like called Moore Brion. I don’t think the race was run to suit him that day, but he still got the job done quite impressively on the day.