How many times has Peter Bowen saddled the winner of the Topham Chase?

Of course, the Topham Chase is one of two races, aside from the Grand National itself, which are run over the Grand National Course during the Aintree Festival in April each year. However, the race is contested over the ‘intermediate’ distance of 2 miles, 5 furlongs and 19 yards and 18, rather than 30, idiosyncratic, spruce-topped fences. As such, the Topham Chase is often the chosen target for horses with sufficient jumping ability but, perhaps, insufficient stamina, to be fully effective over the 4 miles, 2 furlongs and 74 yards of the Grand National.

The Topham Chase was inaugurated in 1949, by way of celebrating the outright purchase of Aintree Racecourse, by the family of the same name, from the owner, Hugh Molyneux, the last Earl of Sefton, from whom the land previously been leased. In eight decades since, two trainers have saddled five winners of the Topham Chase apiece. The first of them is six-time champion trainer Nicky Henderson, who has so far scored with Wont Be Gone Long (1990), Liberthine (2006). Triolo D’Alene (2013), Ma Filleule (2014) and Radjhani Express (2015). The second is the titular Peter Bowen who, while perhaps lesser-known than his illustrious colleague, is nonetheless a highly experienced and successful handler, with over 1,000 winners to his name.

Based in village of Casnewydd Bach or, in English, Little Newcastle, roughly equidistant between the towns of Fishguard and Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, Bowen first took out a full training licence in 1995, having graduated from the point-to-point field. He opened his account in the Topham Chase with Dunbrody Millar in 2007, saddled the remarkable Always Waining to an unprecedented hat-trick in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and completed his quintet with Mac Tottie, ridden by his middle son, Sean, in 2022.