Champion jockey Harry Cobden

David Ord on Harry Cobden's first jockeys' title

By David Ord

Horse Racing

Sun April 28, 2024 · 2y ago

David Ord on why Harry Cobden's first jockeys' title won't be his last.

In the end it was a story overshadowed by the Willie Mullins battalion setting sail for Britain and snaring a first trainers' title on these shores, but at Sandown on Saturday Harry Cobden was crowned champion jockey for the first time.

It was a championship sealed only after a battle royale with Sean Bowen, who looked to be thundering towards the honour himself until he sustained a knee injury in a fall at Aintree on Boxing Day.

He was to spend just over six weeks on the sidelines. At the time of Farren Glory’s departure in Merseyside, with the Grade One William Hill Formby Novices' Hurdle seemingly at his mercy, Bowen led his rival by 30. By the time he returned, that advantage was down to 10.

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The momentum was with Cobden and for two months stayed there, Bowen struggling to find winners. The wheels were turning again but only slowly and soon the hare became the hound.

But what has impressed greatly in this good-natured rivalry is the sheer determination from both men to dig in. Even on Friday afternoon with the gap down to six, the runner-up had hope. That was finally ended by a Cobden double at Chepstow that evening. It wasn’t to be but there was no sense of self-pity, or reflecting on what might have been.

“There were days when it hurt more than others when I was out of action, such as when Dr. Jerry Hill told me I'd likely be out for the rest of the season and when I missed big winners like Noble Yeats at Cheltenham. At the same time, I never really got down – it’s just racing and hopefully I’ll be back stronger next season,” Bowen said this week.

"It's part of racing and I’m not the first person it has happened to. If I had ridden five or six winners in the time I was off, I'd have been level with Harry on Friday morning. I've had a great season though with two Grade One winners, so I haven’t got much to complain about."

Harry Cobden season in numbers

From the outside Bowen would appear to be the one whose focus will be firmly on the 2024/25 title from the moment the curtain came down on the current campaign.

The hunger burns – but Cobden works for Paul Nicholls. He won’t be allowed to rest on his laurels.

“I have spoken to Paul, and he is keen for me to have another go next season. I’m not quite sure it will be to the same extent as this season, but I’ll have a good go through May and early June and see what happens. It depends on how many horses Paul has in over the summer – I am waiting to see what we have going forward," the champion said.

Clearly, it's been a terrific campaign for a jockey who season-by-season has established himself in his role at Ditcheat, a hotseat that has proved just that for a number of riders over the years. But Cobden has long felt like a key cog in the wheel and a rider whose talent is blossoming under the tutelage of his patron.

Over half of his 164 title winners were courtesy of Nicholls – at a strike-rate of 26%. But a champion jockey needs help from elsewhere – especially against a challenger of the ilk of Bowen.

In total, 30 different trainers have provided the rider with winners this term but only James Owen (14 from 41 rides) also made it to double figures.

The one thing really missing has been a big winner on the biggest stage.

There have been good days along the way courtesy of Pic D’Orhy, Ginny’s Destiny, Rubaud and Stage Star, but Monmiral in the Pertemps Final was his only Cheltenham Festival success, and he left Aintree empty handed.

Bravemansgame has been below his very best all season, Stay Away Fay came up short in his big spring assignments. In many ways this is symptomatic of the current state of the sport and the remarkable level of Mullins domination.

Even Nicholls is struggling to get hold of a decent supply of Grade One ammunition despite the millions being spent by his owners.

In his time as stable jockey at Ditcheat, Ruby Walsh had the likes of Denman, Kauto Star, Master Minded and Big Buck’s to warm the winter mornings. He was never going to be a champion on these shores, splitting his time as he did between Ireland and the UK. In 2006/07 and 2007/08, Walsh rode a combined total of 200 winners across both jurisdictions.

He was so good he could pick and choose his rides, and when he returned to Ireland full time for the Mullins job in 2013, it felt like the end of an era. Little did we know it was actually the dawning of a new, remarkable one.

Underneath that shadow Cobden and Nicholls have struggled at the top table – and the green shoots of recovery aren’t obviously visible right now. But away from the major spring festivals they are a domestic powerhouse, driving forward together towards their own individual targets.

The trainer missed out on his title this time around, saying since January his focus was on Cobden winning his.

Maybe. But when you're one short of Martin Pipe’s record of 15 championships, and therefore two away from breaking the landmark of someone who was such a fierce rival during the formative years of your training career, then it will never leave the radar altogether.

And when your former assistant has amassed more prize-money than you have for the first time it will only add to the motivation and fuel to the fire.

Nicholls and Cobden champions together in the spring of 2025? A healthy – and eminently achievable – ambition.

During the week, the rider mused: “I’m not sure if I’ll give it another go."

Trust me Harry, you will.

As he smiled for the cameras in the Sandown sunshine on Saturday, trophy aloft, Cobden was champion for the first time. Nicholls will ensure it isn’t the last.

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