Age: 29
Principal Trainer: Oliver Brady
A native of Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, Matty Bowes has been one of the most in-form conditional riders this term, but his career had been notably slow to get going prior to this season and indeed, it stopped completely in 2007. However, he returned to racing in 2008 and the success he is enjoying could only be considered well deserved.
Early Days
Bowes graduated from RACE back in 1999 and was initially associated with Charlie Swan. Swan provided him with his first ride on the racecourse in a bumper at Down Royal on April Fool’s Day in 2000 and he also provided him with his first winner, with him making it ninth-time lucky when riding Micky Mackelhatton to success in a bumper at Downpatrick the following September. Unfortunately, things didn’t take off as might have been expected for Bowes and he failed to add to his tally in two further years with Swan.
In The Wilderness
At the backend of 2002, Bowes left Swan and began to ride predominantly for Len Young and Tom Hogan. That move soon yielded dividends, with him riding the Young-trained Theicecreamman to success in a maiden hurdle at Clonmel in February 2003. Despite his return to the winner’s enclosure, Bowes’ career still failed to take off and he only rode a total of two winners in the five seasons that followed. In fact, it looked as if his career was over at the end of the 2006, as he left the racing scene to work on building sites. It was only when that trade slowed down that he returned to racing at the beginning of 2008. When he made his return, he took the decision to join the colourful Co. Monaghan-based trainer Oliver Brady and that choice would prove to be a wise one.
Back On The Horse
Now riding as an amateur, Bowes returned to the winner’s enclosure on the Brady-trained Duroob in a handicap hurdle at Kilbeggan on August 9th 2008. Buoyed by his success, Bowes took the decision to return to the professional ranks in mid-October 2008 and he added to his tally on the Brady-trained Saddler’s Native in a handicap hurdle at Clonmel in December. However, after that win Bowes lapsed into yet another quiet spell, with him failing to ride a winner during the entire 2009/10 season. Many would have given up the ghost at this stage, but Bowes persisted and the 2010/11 campaign would finally see him make the breakthrough he had waited over a decade for.
Hitting Top Form
Bowes hit the ground running in the very first month of the 2010/11 season, riding Caesar’s Song to win a bumper at Limerick and Duroob to win a handicap hurdle at Down Royal. The summer months saw him continue his momentum, with him riding a total of four winners up until the end of September. Now very much in his stride, Bowes found himself to be in demand from a wide variety of trainers, with Charles Byrnes giving him the leg up on Jack Cool to win two handicap hurdles around this time. He made up for a few near misses in November and December by finishing January with a bang, riding two winners in as many days in the closing days of the month. One of those wins came on the Michael O’Hare-trained Arctic Mick in a handicap chase at Navan and O’Hare provided him with another winner a fortnight later when Turner Brown won a handicap hurdle at Punchestown.
Such has been Bowes run of form this season, at the time of writing he is in joint-fifth in the race for the title of Champion Conditional Rider, which is a remarkable statistic considering the path that his career has taken since he first appeared on the scene over a decade ago. Bowes more than deserves the success he is finally enjoying due to the remarkable perseverance he showed over the years and he will be hoping that his career will continue to go in the right direction.
Updated February 2011.
