Sean Bowen Blog | Cheltenham November Meeting Day One
12 Nov 2026
Coral Racing Ambassador, Sean Bowen, takes the reins on four horses at Cheltenham on the first day of the November Meeting, including Mighty Bandit in the Grade 2 Shloer Chase.
14:20 Cheltenham – Mighty Bandit
Mighty Bandit had a great campaign last season, improving with every run. He deserves his place in this field and we head here with a good chance. You have to respect everything Jonbon has achieved in his career, but he is getting no younger. Gidleigh Park is a very good horse on his day, although he's had his difficulties in the past, while Saint Segal is another smart performer.
My horse has had a wind-op since his last run, and that might just help find further improvement out of him. He will be fit and ready for this contest, and it is exciting to be involved in this race.
14:55 Cheltenham – Thunder Rock
Thunder Rock was an impressive winner at Perth a couple of weeks ago and I think that run will have done him the world of good.
The hunter chase just seemed to bring his confidence back, and he showed what he's capable of when winning last time. This will obviously be a much more competitive race, but he's a classy horse and, judged on his old form, he's still quite nicely handicapped.
I'm looking forward to getting back on him and hopefully he can build on that Perth performance.
15:30 Cheltenham – Petersham Place
Petersham Place is a little bit of a stab in the dark, as we don't know exactly what we've got at this stage, but I do think he's a horse who will stay very well.
It's an interesting race, with plenty of horses in there who are still relatively unexposed and whose connections probably don't know exactly what they have yet. Staying power could be important, particularly if we get more rain.
He's won a point-to-point on heavy ground and ran on softer ground at Perth last time, so conditions will be a big factor. If the ground turns out to be too quick, he probably won't run, as we need it to be safe for him.
It will be interesting to see how he gets on, and hopefully we'll learn plenty about him.
16:00 Cheltenham – Lexington Wood
Lexington Wood is a horse who's always worked really well at home and shown plenty of ability, although, to be completely honest, he's probably been a little bit disappointing on the track so far.
He's got a nice opening handicap mark of 113, and I definitely think he'll have improved for his last run, where he took a good blow. This is another step forward for him, but it's an interesting opportunity to see what he can do in a handicap.
There are 18 runners, and he's never experienced a field of that size before, so he'll need to settle and jump well. If he can do those things, he'll give himself a chance.
Sean Bowen, Coral Racing Ambassador
14:20 Cheltenham – Mighty Bandit
Mighty Bandit had a great campaign last season, improving with every run. He deserves his place in this field and we head here with a good chance. You have to respect everything Jonbon has achieved in his career, but he is getting no younger. Gidleigh Park is a very good horse on his day, although he's had his difficulties in the past, while Saint Segal is another smart performer.
My horse has had a wind-op since his last run, and that might just help find further improvement out of him. He will be fit and ready for this contest, and it is exciting to be involved in this race.
14:55 Cheltenham – Thunder Rock
Thunder Rock was an impressive winner at Perth a couple of weeks ago and I think that run will have done him the world of good.
The hunter chase just seemed to bring his confidence back, and he showed what he's capable of when winning last time. This will obviously be a much more competitive race, but he's a classy horse and, judged on his old form, he's still quite nicely handicapped.
I'm looking forward to getting back on him and hopefully he can build on that Perth performance.
15:30 Cheltenham – Petersham Place
Petersham Place is a little bit of a stab in the dark, as we don't know exactly what we've got at this stage, but I do think he's a horse who will stay very well.
It's an interesting race, with plenty of horses in there who are still relatively unexposed and whose connections probably don't know exactly what they have yet. Staying power could be important, particularly if we get more rain.
He's won a point-to-point on heavy ground and ran on softer ground at Perth last time, so conditions will be a big factor. If the ground turns out to be too quick, he probably won't run, as we need it to be safe for him.
It will be interesting to see how he gets on, and hopefully we'll learn plenty about him.
16:00 Cheltenham – Lexington Wood
Lexington Wood is a horse who's always worked really well at home and shown plenty of ability, although, to be completely honest, he's probably been a little bit disappointing on the track so far.
He's got a nice opening handicap mark of 113, and I definitely think he'll have improved for his last run, where he took a good blow. This is another step forward for him, but it's an interesting opportunity to see what he can do in a handicap.
There are 18 runners, and he's never experienced a field of that size before, so he'll need to settle and jump well. If he can do those things, he'll give himself a chance.
Sean Bowen, Coral Racing Ambassador
Share
