Champion jockey Sean Bowen paid £400 for a flight from Ireland to Sandown on Saturday morning after travel chaos forced him to abandon plans to ride at the Dublin Racing Festival. He arrived just half an hour before the race and rode Bollin Thou to victory in the Virgin Bet Daily Extra Places Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.
Bowen had been due to ride at Leopardstown on day one of the festival, but the meeting was called off due to the weather. He quickly booked a flight to London and was picked up from Heathrow by trainer Nick Scholfield, who said he may have incurred speeding fines to get Bowen to the track in time.
“The flight cost me £400,” said Bowen, who beat his own record of 180 victories in a season at Warwick on January 23. “I woke up to Olly Murphy ringing me saying ‘Leopardstown is off so get your a*** over here!’ My flight was delayed last night and I got to bed at 2am this morning. I had a 10am flight and literally got here half-an-hour before the race. It was worth it anyway.”
Bollin Thou, trained by rookie handler Nick Scholfield, gave Bowen his 187th winner of the campaign. The horse has improved markedly after a slow start to the season, with his handicap mark rising from 76 to 103. Scholfield, who rode his last race in the 2025 Grand National on Monbeg Genius, said: “He toughed it out, and he would be better on better ground over further.”
