JOCKEYS’ & TRAINERS CHALLENGES 2023

Cartmel Jockeys Challenge

of the race to take the title this season. Bowen had his first-ever winner at Cartmel and more than 700 winners later is firmly established among the elite of jump jockeys as he showed when bringing Dee Star from what seemed an impossible position at the last to win the Alan Bolt Memorial Veterans Handicap Chase by more than 12 lengths

It was not quite all change in the Cartmel Jockeys Challenge after the second day of competition on Monday, but Ben Harvey’s clear lead in the table has quickly evaporated to just one point

And the jockeys on his tail are two of the very best in Sean Bowen and Brian Hughes, second and first in last season’s Jockeys Championship and currently the top two at this early stage

With two second places as well from his five rides, Bowen’s seven-point haul was the best performance of the day, edging out Richie McLernon, whose four rides garnered him six points with a first, second and a third all for trainer

Ben Haslam

Meanwhile triple Champion Jockey Hughes got off the mark for the season with a win on Titanium Moon in the opening Hadwins Mares Novices Hurdle, while Henry Brooke’s fine ride on Ubetya in the Molson Coors Handicap Chase took him on to five points and a share of fifth place with Jonathan England.

Cartmel Trainers Challenge

Middleham trainer Ben Haslam was the big mover at Cartmel on Monday when his four-horse raid produced a winner, a second and a third to catapult him into joint third place and serious contention for the Cartmel Trainers Challenge

The feature was Aramax, who ran out an impressive winner of the Tony Connell Memorial Handicap Hurdle after cruising to the front half-afurlong from the finish to beat Scrum Diddly, who had jumped into the lead at the last and looked set to give Oliver Sherwood a second winner at the meeting

George Bewley did follow up Saturday’s win with Lights Are Green when Strike Of Lighting took the closing Well Handicap Hurdle to give jockey Conor Rabbitt his first Cartmel winner The win takes Bewley on to seven points and second place behind John McConnell, who did not have any runners on Monday. Only two trainers have ever won the Challenge since it began 11 years ago, James Moffatt, who remains pointless after the first two days of competition and Donald McCain, who has a share of third place after Titanium Moon’s win in the opener.

Peter Bowen’s first visit to Cartmel this season produced a four-point haul with two second places from Lermoos Legend, whose late charge in the Andy Autin Happy 64th Birthday Handicap Chase failed to peg back Rebecca Menzies’ impressive topweight Return Ticket and Karavomylos, whose similar tactics were thwarted by Strike Of Lighting