After a titanic tussle with Sean Bowen, Cobden moved into an unassailable lead with victory in the first race at Chepstow, the day before the final meeting of the season
Harry Cobden has won the 2023-24 jumps jockeys’ championship.
He was assured victory over rival Sean Bowen when he won the first race at Chepstow on Friday. His win on Spring Gale took him to 163 for the campaign, six in front of Bowen, who managed a winner at Perth.
While both have rides at the Jumps Season Finale meeting at Sandown on Saturday, Bowen only has four mounts to Cobden’s six. Cobden becomes only the eighth different jockey to win the title since 1981, joining Sir A P McCoy, Richard Johnson, Peter Scudamore, Richard Dunwoody, Brian Hughes and Harry Skelton.
The 25-year-old stable jockey to Paul Nicholls had trailed Bowen by a substantial margin until December when his rival suffered a knee injury in a fall in December which put him out of action for six weeks.
Cobden made hay during Bowen’s absence and was only four behind Bowen when he returned to action in February and by March had moved nine clear, putting him on course to victory.
He was six in front at the start of the penultimate day and while Bowen added one to his score at Perth, it was all over once Cobden had completed the Mares’ Maiden Hurdle at the Chepstow evening meeting.
Race commentator Gareth Topham said: “This was the one that Harry Cobden needed. He will secure the 23-24 jumps jockeys’ championship on board Spring Gale.”
Cobden, who will collect his trophy at Sandown, had to be told of the implications of the win to the title race by Sky Sports Racing’s Mick FitzGerald. The jockey said: “Lovely job. It’s like having a birthday, It feels like something special has happened but it hasn’t really sunk in.”
