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Uttoxeter’s Retro Races Turn Into A Bowen Brothers Showcase

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19 May 2025

Uttoxeter’s Saturday evening meeting was billed as Nineties Night, but it was really Bowen Night, for the jockey brothers notched three winners between them.

A James Bowen double began with De Tellers Fortune, who bounced back from a dismal performance last time on soft going. He led or disputed the lead all the way, overcoming considerable distractions caused by a loose horse crossing his path twice on the approach to the final fence. Nicky Henderson is not known for his summer jumpers, but that was his seventh winner from fifteen runners in a fortnight.

It was a glorious evening, but the low sun meant that for the later races all the obstacles in the home straight were omitted. Only four hurdles, rather than twelve, were jumped in the three-mile hurdle. James employed similar tactics on Minella Rescue, keeping near the front of the field. He went for home fully three furlongs out and the horse – who rarely runs a bad race – kept up the gallop willingly.

Sean’s winner came in the 2m5f chase, where only eight instead of sixteen fences were jumped. There was a huge plunge on his mount Shadows In The Sky, who had been pulled up in his last three races but had since moved to James Owen’s yard. His morning price of 11/4 crashed, with the help of a couple of non-runners, to 8/13. Always prominent, his backers had few concerns as he won by six lengths. The horse had engagements he could take up on Tuesday and Friday if coming out of this race well.

All three Bowen brothers carried on the good work at Stratford on Sunday. Sean rode Mickey’s All Inn Hand to an all-the-way victory in a modest 2m6f novice hurdle. The mare had decent placed form at Chepstow and, helped by her principal rival repeatedly jumping left, she stayed on well to finish 22 lengths ahead.

Later it was James’s turn to make all the running on Warren Greatrex’s Tactical Affair and pulverise inferior opposition in a novices handicap chase.

The card concluded with a bumper. Sheila Lewis’s £15,000 purchase Lord Cauvelliere ran right away from the tightly-packed field when Callum Pritchard asked him for an effort a furlong and a half out. The Lord won a Shropshire point-to-point last month and the runner-up there was second again in this race.

Tim Vaughan’s Bumpy Evans (photographed) completed a hat-trick at Bangor’s Family Fun Day meeting on Saturday. This horse is a quirky customer. He habitually goes off in front, gets a clear lead, lets the rest of the field catch up, and then scoots off again. He gave Alan Johns his final winner in dramatic style at Ffos Las last month. Bumpy Evans is still very low in the handicap and he can win a few more. David Noonan was the man on board today; he is getting most of the rides on the Vaughan horses now.

 

Our next meeting at Ffos Las is this Thursday 22nd May, the first race is off at 2.05pm.

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