Sean Bowen may lead Harry Skelton by 27 in the race to be this season’s British Champion jump jockey, but the Welsh rider is a long way back in his bid to pick up as much prize money as possible in the inaugural David Power Jockeys’ Cup which concludes after the second day of action at Aintree’s Randox Grand National Festival. 

Skelton is clear at the top of the leaderboard on 378 points and – with Flat racing back in the spotlight this weekend – is guaranteed to be 74 clear of Harry Cobden when the ITV cameras roll into Liverpool on Thursday. 

Can Cobden catch the runaway leader with a strong start to the Aintree meeting and pinch the £500,000 top prize from under Skelton’s nose? It’s not impossible, especially given the success that the yard of Paul Nicholls has had there over the years, but it looks a tough task. 

We will take a closer look at their mounts after declarations have been made. 

The chase is afoot!

Nico de Boinville has actually ridden more winners in the Jockeys’ Cup than Skelton, but the Seven Barrows stable jockey has failed to add as many points from placed efforts – indeed, he is still yet to finish third in an ITV race this season! 

De Boinville is on 296 points, just eight behind Cobden but 36 clear of current fourth-placed Sam Twiston-Davies who has ridden the same number of winners (eight) as fifth-placed Bowen (222 points) and sixth-placed Gavin Sheehan (188). 

Ben Jones and Charlie Deutsch are both on 152 points, with identical records of 10 wins, three runner-up efforts, four thirds, and one fourth-placed finish apiece. 

Who will come out on top at Aintree and claim bragging rights ahead of next season? Or will Jonjo O’Neill enjoy more success in Liverpool and make up the 12-point deficit on both? 

If he can leapfrog them – from ninth to seventh – then his share of the prize money would jump from £20,000 to £40,000, with the amount going to the O’Neill stable staff also doubling, as it would for his trainer/father Jonjo O’Neill Snr – that’s one way to get in the good books! 

Titanic tussle in conditional riders’ race

In the Jockeys’ Cup race to be leading conditional jockey – which comes with an added prize of £25,000 – Dylan Johnston is on 82 points, 12 clear of Caoilin Quinn who has seen his buffer on those behind shorten significantly in recent weeks. Freddie Gingell (68) and Patrick Wadge (64) are well within striking range as they eye up the top prize, with the £5,000 on offer for the second-best conditional fair consolation. 

Whatever happens on the final two days of action – Thursday 3 April and Friday 4 April – in the 2024/25 David Power Jockeys’ Cup, there will no doubt be plenty of drama and captivating stories on Merseyside. 

Patrick Wadge enjoyed day two of the Ladbrokes Go North series finals as a win on Starlyte and a runner-up finish on Your Own Story secured the young Scottish rider 18 points. As a result, he jumped up the David Power Jockeys’ Cup leaderboard into a share of 24th position on 64 points, and is now just 18 behind leading conditional rider Dylan Johnston (82 points) as both chase the top prize for leading conditional.

Other jockeys to enjoy success at Kelso included Danny McMenamin (14 points) and Brian Hughes (10).

At the top of the standings, Nico de Boinville enjoyed a fruitful afternoon at Newbury with a win for Bhaloo and a runner-up finish for the same connections’ La Pinsonniere securing a return of 18 points. Leader Harry Skelton, meanwhile, endured a rare blank afternoon in front of the ITV cameras.

Jonathan Burke rode Siog Geal to success in the race that La Pinsonniere was second in, the Grade 2 BetVictor British EBF “National Hunt” Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, while Harry Cobden and Sam Twiston-Davies both came away from the Berkshire track with four points apiece. 

The sole ITV race at Bangor on Saturday afternoon went the way of the Sean Bowen-ridden The Four Sixes. 

On this week’s Paddy Power Media’s ‘Harry Cobden Cheltenham Review’, the top rider joined host Patrick Kennelly with the topics including the David Power Jockeys’ Cup. 

Cobden is currently 78 points behind leader Harry Skelton and acknowledges the tough challenge that he is facing, but is determined to give it his all in the final few weeks left of the competition which finishes on Friday 4th April. 

Cobden said: “The bird looks to have flown, but never say never. I remember I went to Sandown one day and I had six rides – all of them won and I got off the wrong one, I rode the wrong one in another race there and that finished second. 

“So you never know – I have to ride eight winners and he [Skelton] has to ride none for me to beat him. It could happen but I’d say the chance of that happening are very, very slim. 

“So my target now is to fend old Nico [De Boinville] off and Sam Twiston-Davies for the 200 grand for the second place.” 

As well as picking up prize money for himself, Cobden’s finish will determine how much prize money goes to the trainer who provides the most rides to the jockey, as well as the stable staff. In Cobden’s case, that will be Paul Nicholls’ Ditcheat yard. 

Cobden added: “I’ve been trying to ride in every ITV race and I remember one day, I probably could have ridden four winners at Taunton and I went to Ascot for one ride for Paul, in an ITV race, ended up finishing second.  

“It’s been on our mind all season so it’s certainly not through lack of trying anyway.  

“When I was in contention of actually winning it, they were getting excited about the 50 grand, but it’s not quite as exciting at the moment.” 

Nico De Boinville went some way to putting a disappointing Cheltenham Festival behind him when picking up 18 David Power Jockeys’ Cup on Saturday, but his total was matched by Jockeys’ Cup leader Harry Skelton and surpassed by two points by second-placed Harry Cobden who were both in action at Uttoxeter. 

The Seven Barrows jockey would have expected more success at Prestbury Park, with Constitution Hill and Jonbon two notable losses, but he picked up valuable points on Saturday thanks mainly to a win for Aston Martini in the Kempton handicap hurdle shown on ITV. 

Other notable winners at the Sunbury-on-Thames venue included Ben Jones, who took the two-and-a-half-mile handicap chase on the rejuvenated Bad and also picked up 18 points in total. He is now level with Charlie Deutsch on 152 points.

Over at Uttoxeter, the feature JenningsBet Midlands Grand National went the way of the Jack Tudor-ridden Mr Vango, a horse that De Boinville had ridden to win at Sandown earlier in the season. Tudor remains in 16th spot.

Other jockeys to enjoy their afternoon in the Midlands included Skelton, though he couldn’t match the 22-point haul of the chasing Cobden who added placed efforts on Isaac Des Obeaux and Below The Radar to the earlier win of Red Risk. 

Red Risk had looked held in second once headed by the Skelton-ridden Joyeaux Machin, but he rallied well as the leader idled and managed to get back up for a neck success. 

A whopping 32-point haul meant Paul Townend moved up to 13th in the David Power Jockeys’ Cup thanks to two wins and two places on Friday, though he was almost matched on the day by fellow Irish rider Mark Walsh who picked up two wins himself including the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Inothewayurthinkin. 

Walsh’s other win came aboard Dinoblue in the Mares’ Chase, while Townend’s two victories came on the well-fancied Kargese in the County Hurdle and Jasmin De Vaux in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.  

Walsh was unable to steer Galopin Des Champs to a third straight Gold Cup win, with the Willie Mullins-trained runner eventually well-held in second. 

Darragh O’Keeffe also flew the flag well for Ireland, picking up place points with The Big Westerner (second in the Albert Bartlett) and Gentlemansgame (third in the Gold Cup) which earned him a place inside the top 20. 

Meanwhile, Nico De Boinville did best of those towards the top of the Jockeys’ Cup leaderboard, taking home eight points on Triumph Hurdle runner-up Lulamba who only found 100/1 shot Poniros too good in Friday’s opener. 

Nico De Boinville moved up from fourth to third in the race to be the David Power Jockeys’ Cup champion on Thursday thanks to a runner-up effort on Jeriko Du Reponet in the Pertemps Final, won by his stablemate Doddiethgreat. 

Those eight points were enough to see the Seven Barrows jockey overtake Sam Twiston-Davies, though it still leaves him trailing second-placed Harry Cobden – who picked up 10 points on the day thanks to first-race winner Caldwell Potter – by 28 points. 

Cobden, in turn, trails Jockeys’ Cup leader Harry Skelton by 80 points after the leader picked up 10 points on day three of the Cheltenham Festival thanks to placed efforts for Catch Him Derry, who was third in the Pertemps, and  Protektorat, who was fourth in the Ryanair Chase. 

A thrilling success on The New Lion on the opening race of day two of the Cheltenham Festival was the mainstay of a good afternoon for David Power Jockeys’ Cup leader Harry Skelton.

Skelton had to be at his best to drive his brother Dan’s stable star to the front after the final flight of the Turners Novices’ Hurdle and the 3/1 chance held on from The Yellow Clay to record a three-quarters-of-a-length success.

Skelton also picked up points on Unexpected Party who found just one too good in his bid to land back-to-back Grand Annuals.

The other big winner on the day was Nico De Boinville, who picked up 16 points thanks to two runner-up efforts, though it may not feel like it for the leading rider after Jonbon failed to land the Queen Mother Champion Chase due to a serious error before halfway.

Though well down the Jockeys’ Cup leaderboard, Paul Townend picked up more points on the week despite failing to ride a winner.

Galopin Des Champs – the red-hot favourite as he bids for three successive wins in the Cheltenham Gold Cup – will face a maximum of eight rivals in Friday’s feature race. 

Willie Mullins’ stable star has been in imperious form on his last two starts and will again bid to see off Gentlemansgame and The Real Whacker who were both pulled up in the race 12 months ago. 

The favourite’s biggest challenge this year could come from King George VI Chase winner Banbridge, Inowthewayurthinkin – who was fifth behind Galopin Des Champs at Christmas and one place closer last month – and Monty’s Star who was fifth at Leopardstown last time out. 

The field is completed by Corbetts Cross, Royal Pagaille and Ahoy Senor. 

With the race dominated by Irish-trained runners, it is unlikely to have a sizeable effect on the David Power Jockeys’ Cup leaderboard, though the same can’t be said for Friday’s Triumph Hurdle. 

Leading domestic fancies East India Dock (Sam Twiston-Davies) and Lulamba (Nico De Boinville) are amongst the 18 declarations. Palladium, a spare ride for Harry Cobden, will miss the race due to a setback. 

David Power Jockeys’ Cup leader Harry Skelton has a good chance of picking up further points in Thursday’s Ryanair Chase after a mouthwatering clash between last year’s winner Protektorat, favourite Fact To File and French raider Il Est Francais was confirmed. 

Protektorat comes into the race on the back of a commanding defeat of the re-opposing Djelo at Windsor, while Il Est Francais was only collared late on when attempting to make all in the King George VI Chase at Kempton at Christmas. 

Il Est Francais represents the all-powerful Willie Mullins yard and holds the best form in the field after three runs this season. He beat Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs first time out this term and has lost little caste in defeat in two efforts behind that rival since. 

Skelton’s lead at the top of the standings was at 62 points after day one of the Cheltenham Festival which saw the leading protagonists struggle to trouble the scorer on a dramatic afternoon. 

Thursday’s other main race – the Stayers’ Hurdle – features a larger field of 15 led by last year’s winner Teahupoo. Skelton will be hopeful that festival favourite Langer Dan can bounce back to his best, but the main challenge to Teahupoo is likely to come from fellow Irish raider Home By The Lee.