Sean Bowen Saturday Blog | Kelso
26 Feb 2026
Coral Racing Ambassador, Sean Bowen, gives us the inside scoop on his five rides as he heads to Scotland on Saturday for Kelso's feature Morebattle Hurdle meeting.
13:10 Kelso – Bythesametoken
I ride Bythesametoken in the opener, and it’ll be my first time on him. It is interesting that Ross O’Sullivan is sending one over here. He is a big enough price, but he was a winner two starts back, and there was little wrong with his run at Haydock on his latest appearance. If he can build on that performance at Haydock, we have a good chance of hitting the frame.
14:15 Kelso – The Blue Room
I was extremely disappointed with The Blue Room at Cheltenham last time, but that was a very strange race. There was a long delay beforehand because of damage to the track, and it just turned into one of those messy races where he didn’t show up.
Going into Trials Day at Cheltenham, I genuinely thought he could be a proper novice going forward. I still think there’s ability there – he just needs to get back on track. If he can put that last run behind him and show what we see at home, he could run a big race and hopefully get his season rolling again.
14:55 Kelso – Hamlet's Night
I’m really looking forward to riding Hamlet’s Night. He was very consistent towards the back end of last year and put up some solid performances, including a good run at Cheltenham.
He had a mid-season break and came back to win on the Flat ten days ago, which was encouraging. He seems in great form at home, and, on his hurdles form, I think he could still be nicely handicapped. If everything drops right for him, I’d like to think he’ll be bang there.
15:30 Kelso – Good To Be Alive
Good To Be Alive was a winner at Plumpton on his last start. I thought he did well there because the track is sharp and they went a good gallop, which caught him out a little bit down the back. He was on the back foot for a while but stayed on strongly up the straight. He’s only gone up 4lb for that win, which seems fair, and I think the longer run-in at Kelso will suit him better. He’s in good nick and should give himself another solid chance.
17:10 Kelso – Al Kalila
I finish the day on Al Kalila, who I know quite well and have ridden at Kelso before. He’s run a couple of very good races there, including when he was second before Christmas. He was disappointing at Down Royal last time when favourite, and we haven’t really got to the bottom of that yet. He’ll need to bounce back to his best, but the positive is that there are only four runners declared. If he returns to the level we know he’s capable of, he should be in the mix.
Sean Bowen, Coral Racing Ambassador
13:10 Kelso – Bythesametoken
I ride Bythesametoken in the opener, and it’ll be my first time on him. It is interesting that Ross O’Sullivan is sending one over here. He is a big enough price, but he was a winner two starts back, and there was little wrong with his run at Haydock on his latest appearance. If he can build on that performance at Haydock, we have a good chance of hitting the frame.
14:15 Kelso – The Blue Room
I was extremely disappointed with The Blue Room at Cheltenham last time, but that was a very strange race. There was a long delay beforehand because of damage to the track, and it just turned into one of those messy races where he didn’t show up.
Going into Trials Day at Cheltenham, I genuinely thought he could be a proper novice going forward. I still think there’s ability there – he just needs to get back on track. If he can put that last run behind him and show what we see at home, he could run a big race and hopefully get his season rolling again.
14:55 Kelso – Hamlet's Night
I’m really looking forward to riding Hamlet’s Night. He was very consistent towards the back end of last year and put up some solid performances, including a good run at Cheltenham.
He had a mid-season break and came back to win on the Flat ten days ago, which was encouraging. He seems in great form at home, and, on his hurdles form, I think he could still be nicely handicapped. If everything drops right for him, I’d like to think he’ll be bang there.
15:30 Kelso – Good To Be Alive
Good To Be Alive was a winner at Plumpton on his last start. I thought he did well there because the track is sharp and they went a good gallop, which caught him out a little bit down the back. He was on the back foot for a while but stayed on strongly up the straight. He’s only gone up 4lb for that win, which seems fair, and I think the longer run-in at Kelso will suit him better. He’s in good nick and should give himself another solid chance.
17:10 Kelso – Al Kalila
I finish the day on Al Kalila, who I know quite well and have ridden at Kelso before. He’s run a couple of very good races there, including when he was second before Christmas. He was disappointing at Down Royal last time when favourite, and we haven’t really got to the bottom of that yet. He’ll need to bounce back to his best, but the positive is that there are only four runners declared. If he returns to the level we know he’s capable of, he should be in the mix.
Sean Bowen, Coral Racing Ambassador
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