Our James Bowen (photographed) has struck up a great partnership with Warren Greatrex’s young chaser Village Master in the last year. The grey has the winning habit and won the 2m5f chase at Stratford on Saturday evening to make it seven wins from nine starts over fences, five of them with Bowen up. Though he’d won there over a similar distance in 2024, his later performances suggested three miles plus was his optimum and during this race, he was clearly outpaced at times. However, Bowen knew that the Village Master was genuine. He stoked him up to join the leaders, three out and again approaching the last, over which he landed in front. From there,e he fended off an opponent carrying a stone less.
James was adamant he would be better on faster ground – he felt Stratford had been watered enough to make it on the soft side of good. Village Master had been entered for another race on Tuesday, but wasn’t declared for it as this one took more out of him than connections hoped.
Sean Bowen crossed the country for three rides at Fakenham on Sunday and scored on Tara Iti, who was having his ninth outing since moving to James Owen three months ago. He was settled in second place in the four-runner field in a slowly-run 2m hurdle until they sped up in the final half mile. Other than one anxious moment at the last, where Tara Iti was awkward, Bowen and the punters who made him the 13/8 joint favourite could always be happy that the horse would win his seventh hurdle race.
In hindsight, the David Evans-trained winner of the two-year-old maiden at Lingfield on Saturday evening was markedly overpriced at 11/1. Previously, Guernsey Lady contested maidens at Newmarket and Goodwood, finishing third and fourth, before flying even higher in a Listed fillies event at York’s Dante meeting. Evans targeted that race before with his smart early juveniles. She finished last of nine, but wasn’t beaten out of sight, so dropping into a Class 5 now was a signal of intent. The owner, Trevor Gallienne, has had lots of winners with Evans in the past. He likes to name them after places in the Channel Islands such as Lihou and Herm.
Tim Vaughan’s new principal jockey, David Noonan, has had the best part of a hundred rides for the yard over time. Noonan, who’s been averaging 30 wins a year for the last three seasons, spent the formative part of his career with the Pipe stable. His biggest success was Warthog in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup, the big 2m4f chase at Cheltenham’s December meeting of 2019. He started picking up rides for Gary Moore when his sons Jamie and Josh were in the wars. In December 2023, he registered his first Grade 1 for the Moores by riding Le Patron to victory in the Henry VIII Novices Chase.
Our next meeting at Ffos Las is this Thursday, 5th June – the first race is 6.15pm.
