Nico de Boinville ruled out of Clarence House Chase due to injury with James Bowen set to take Jonbon ride

James Bowen will ride Jonbon in the rearranged My Pension Expert Clarence House Chase (2.25) at Cheltenham on Saturday after jockey Nico de Boinville was stood down by the doctor on Wednesday due to a sore collarbone.

De Boinville returned to riding last Sunday, just under a month after fracturing his collarbone in a fall at Doncaster last month. He partnered a winner at Warwick on Monday and had been set to take two rides at Chepstow on Wednesday.

However, after finishing second on his first ride, De Boinville was replaced on his other mount by Robbie Dunne and is set to have a few days off to give him additional time to recover from his injury.

De Boinville’s agent Sam Stronge said on Thursday: “He was a bit sore after his rides yesterday so he was stood down by the doctor. He wants to give his collarbone a few more days to recover so he won’t be riding this weekend.

“We’re taking it day by day to see how he is and when he’s ready to come back. We tried to get back as quickly as we could but it’s been a busy week and maybe it was just too quick on this occasion.”

Bowen will be riding Jonbon for the first time in the rearranged Grade 1 Clarence House Chase. De Boinville had partnered Jonbon in both of his starts this season, the most recent being the Grade 1 Tingle Creek Chase, with regular rider Aidan Coleman sidelined by injury.

Henderson gave his backing to Bowen at the start of the month to stand in for De Boinville, calling him “as cool as you can get”. 

The jockey landed his first Grade 1 last month on Jango Baie for Henderson in the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree and is booked for a strong set of rides at Cheltenham on Saturday.

As well as Jonbon, Bowen will ride leading JCB Triumph Hurdle candidate Sir Gino in the Grade 2 JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial, First Street in the Grade 2 Unibet Hurdle and Lucky Place in the Grade 2 SSS Super Alloys Novices’ Hurdle.

Speaking after declarations on Thursday morning, Henderson said: “It’s a shame Nico won’t be able to ride at Cheltenham but we have able deputies across the board.

“We thought James would have to ride Jonbon at Ascot, so he has already had a chance to school him, and he went and schooled Sir Gino this morning too. He knows what he’s riding.”

James Bowen's Cheltenham rides on Saturday

• 12.40 Cheltenham (Timeform Novices' Handicap Chase): Persian Time
• 1.15 Cheltenham (Paddy Power Cheltenham Countdown Podcast Handicap Chase): Excello
• 2.25 Cheltenham (My Pension Expert Clarence House Chase): Jonbon
• 3.00 Cheltenham (Unibet Hurdle): First Street
• 4.10 Cheltenham (SSS Super Alloys Novices' Hurdle): Lucky Place

Read these next:

Confirmed runners and riders for Saturday's Cheltenham Trials day card - plus a big-race tip and free bet

Five years of profit in a row for Ante-Post Pricewise - subscribe to Members' Club now with 50% off for Tom Segal's Cheltenham tips!

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.