Sean Bowen celebrates landmark 1,000th career winner

Sean Bowen, who is out in front in this season’s race to be champion jockey, brought up his 1,000th career winner with a double at Fakenham on Friday.

The son of trainer Peter Bowen, the 27-year-old began his career as a conditional with Paul Nicholls and was champion conditional in 2014-2015, aged just 17, capping his season by partnering the multiple champion trainer’s Just A Par to victory in the season-ending bet365 Gold Cup.

Clan Des Obeaux and Cyrname are just two of the Ditcheat stars he has won on among his 1,000 victories, while he recorded his first Grade One winner in the 2019 Liverpool Hurdle aboard Harry Fry’s If The Cap Fits.

Further top-level success with Fry was provided by Metier, with Hughie Morrison’s Not So Sleepy in the 2023 Fighting Fifth Hurdle and another Liverpool Hurdle triumph with Strong Leader last year Bowen’s other wins at the highest level.

He registered a career-best 157 winners when finishing second in a season-long battle with Harry Cobden for the jockeys’ title in 2023-24, but is 12 ahead of Harry Skelton in the current standings as he searches to become champion for the first time.

On reaching the milestone, Bowen said: “I’m delighted to have achieved 1,000 winners, it feels like a huge milestone.

“There is no doubt that my family have played a massive part in my journey. From buying us ponies and taking us across the country, even all the way up to Scotland to go pony racing and then helping when I began as a point-to-point rider, it all gave me a big head start.

“Everything has come from my parents, and they are the reasons I am where I am now. My brothers have also done so much. Mickey, James and I used to ride up the gallops when we were younger and as well as being great fun it was all good experience.”

Speaking to Great British Racing, he continued: “My next goal is to become champion jockey, it is something I have wanted for a very long time so I am very focused on achieving that after a tough battle for the title last year. It has been a great season so far, so hopefully becoming champion jockey something I can achieve. I would also love to have a Cheltenham Festival winner.”

It was perhaps fitting that the landmark winner for Bowen came aboard Olly Murphy’s 11-10 bumper favourite Kefir d’Oudairies.

Bowen and Murphy have struck up a fine association over the past few years and the Warren Chase handler hailed the “ideal role model” with an “unbelievable will to win”.

Murphy said: “It’s brilliant to see and he is riding as well as anyone in the country at the moment and for a young lad to get to 1000 winners as quickly as he has is quite remarkable.

“He’s a massive part of the success we’ve had at Warren Chase in the last few years and I love working with him.

“He’s got an unbelievable work ethic and an unbelievable will to win and he’s a fella you ideally want on your side more than not. He’s the ideal role model for any young lad coming up through the ranks.

“He’s as dedicated as they come and mad on his fitness and his attitude to the job is second to none. I’m very lucky to have him riding my horses, it’s a huge achievement and here’s to the next 1000.”