'I probably over-reacted a small bit' - Sean Dylan Bowen fails in appeal against seven-day ban for insufficient effort

Sean Dylan Bowen has failed in his appeal against a seven-day ban imposed by the Leicester stewards for insufficient effort, making Tuesday the second day in a row that a leading apprentice has been at odds with officials. In the race to be champion apprentice, Bowen is just two wins behind Jack Doughty, who was told on Monday that he must serve a two-week ban for repeated breaches of the whip rules.

The 18-year-old Bowen represented himself at a two-hour hearing, where he accepted there had been "a visible softening" in his riding style in the final half-furlong of the recent 1m4f handicap in which he finished third on Buxted Reel. But he argued it had made no difference to the outcome, even though his mount failed by just a head to get second place.

"The horse in my opinion hit the line at his top speed," Bowen told the panel. "Realistically, pushing a horse vigorously is not always going to make them run faster. Changing a style of riding could have an effect to make them run better towards the end. Every animal is nearly different."

Bowen said he had been worried about the eventual winner, Thrilling Dream, crossing in front of him. "Pat Cosgrave was easing down and I felt my mount was still going at top speed. With Mr [William] Carson on my left, for a few strides it did get a bit tight. You wouldn't want to run up behind another horse at that speed."

But Bowen made key concessions under pressure from the BHA's Charlotte Davison, who argued he had plenty of room for manoeuvre if his concerns were real and that the eventual winning distance was a length and a half. "I probably over-reacted a small bit," he replied. 

"In the moment, I probably thought I was closer to Mr Cosgrave's mount. If you were driving a car and there was one slowing down in front of you . . . I just didn't want a pile-up to happen."

Davison also pressed Bowen on his knowledge of the rules, as he had appeared to accept in the raceday stewards' inquiry that he had not known of the requirement to be seen to make sufficient effort. "I think there's nearly so many rules in the rule book, I wouldn't know all of them," he said. 

He also admitted he had not known it would make a difference for betting on the five-runner race, whether he finished second or third. But he denied an accusation from Davison that he had simply given up on realising that Buxted Reel's winning chance had gone.

The panel eventually agreed with the stewards' verdict and insisted Bowen must serve a seven-day suspension, as his mount could have finished second under a more vigorous ride.

Bowen has two rides at Lingfield on Tuesday afternoon, after which he will be suspended until the middle of next week. Doughty's suspension runs from Thursday until August 28. Their regulatory troubles present an opportunity to fellow apprentice Mark Winn, whose 21 wins place him one behind Bowen in the title race.

Read more . . .

Jockey Jack Doughty hit with 20-day whip ban but vows to 'come back stronger' as he chases apprentice title 

The Post Script: 25-1 looks huge about this Group 1 winner bouncing back 

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