Sean Bowen Blog | Cheltenham Day Four

13 Mar 2025
Coral Racing Ambassador, Sean Bowen, previews his two rides on the final day of this year's Cheltenham Festival and gives his thoughts on the feature race of the week, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. 

13:20 Cheltenham – Opec

She won well at Newbury when completing her hat-trick earlier in the season, but her form has tailed off since then. She is a front runner, so she could have an important role to play for East India Dock.

The top two horses in the betting appear head and shoulders above the rest in this field, and it may come down to who has the best turn of foot in the closing stages.

15:20 Cheltenham – Intense Approach

He is a good tough horse who has plenty of experience. It was an excellent performance last time at Musselburgh when he won the Scottish Stayers’ Novices’ Hurdle under the hands of my brother, James.

A race like the Albert Bartlett should suit him, as he stays well. The ratings suggest he is good enough to run into the placings here, but I do think The Big Westerner is the one we all have to beat.

Cheltenham Gold Cup

It is hard to look past Galopin Des Champs completing his hat-trick. I am pleased that Banbridge and Inothewayurthinkin are both running, otherwise this would not be much of a race.

Banbridge stayed on strongly in the King George and they have opted for this race over the Ryanair Chase. Inothewayurthinkin looks like a strong stayer, and they would not have supplemented him if they did not believe he would be in the mix.

I think Galopin Des Champs will complete the hat-trick, and I can see Banbridge finishing second behind him.

Sean Bowen, Coral Racing Ambassador
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