RCA Summer Jumps Championship Update

The RCA Summer Jumps Championship has reached its midway point and the races to be crowned champion summer jockey, summer trainer, small summer trainer and summer owner are hotting up.

After 59 fixtures at 16 racecourses, the league tables across all four categories are beginning to take shape. With 23 fixtures remaining, there is still opportunity for all manner of twists, turns and glory ahead of the grand finale at Newton Abbot on Friday 19^th September.

Leading Summer Jockey

1	Sean Bowen	343
2	Brian Hughes	185
3	James Bowen	184
4	Sam Twiston-Davies	151
5	Gavin Sheehan	143

 

Sean Bowen has taken a commanding lead in the Summer Jockey category, amassing am impressive 343 points so far recording 38 winners. Three-time Champion Jockey Brian Hughes sits in second place, whilst Sean’s brother James is just one point behind Hughes in third. Both Brian Hughes and James Bowen picked up some much-needed maximum point races in the final week before the midway break, meaning Sean Bowen can’t quite begin planning his victory celebrations just yet.

Leading Summer Trainer

1	James Owen	228
2	Mickey Bowen	178
3	Olly Murphy	144
4	Jamie Snowden	120
5	James Moffatt	115

 

James Owen is in pole position to be crowned Champion Summer Trainer with 228 points so far with 26 winners. In his first season holding a full trainers’ licence, Mickey Bowen is the best of the rest with 178 points, whilst Olly Murphy, Jamie Snowden and James Moffatt make up the remainder of the top five.

Leading Summer Small Trainer

1	James Moffatt	115
2	Sam England	68
3	Warren Greatrex	53
4	Gordon Elliott	52
5	Ryan Potter	49

 

A six-time leading trainer at Cartmel Racecourse, James Moffatt is bringing this form to summer jump racing across Great Britain as he leads the way in the Summer Small Trainer category. Sam England is leading the challenge from the pack, with Warren Greatrex and Gordon Elliott eye-catching chasers. Ryan Potter makes up the top five with 49 points amassed to date.

Leading Summer Owner

1	J P McManus	43
2	Bill Hawkins	35
3	N A Twiston-Davies	33
T4	Pitchall Stud Partnership	30
T4	A C O’Keeffe	30

 

J P McManus has claimed the vast majority of prizes in jump racing, and champion Summer Owner looks like it could be heading his way too with 43 points so far. With the top five being separated by just 13 points, the champion summer owner is the closest category in the Championship, with Bill Hawkins, Nigel Twiston-Davies, the Pitchall Stud Partnership and A C O’Keeffe ready to take the crown.

Kevin Walsh, Racing Director at the Racecourse Association, commented: “The results from the opening half of the RCA Summer Jumps Championship have given us the first indications of where the prizes will be going come September and provide an exciting, additional narrative to the summer jumps season.

“One of our aims when creating this Championship was to highlight the opportunities provided by summer jumps racing at all levels of the sport. I’m pleased to see such a variety of names involved at the top of the league tables, from international giants of the sport to smaller, local businesses, and look forward to seeing how the remainder of the Championship plays out ahead of the finale at Newton Abbot on Friday 19^th September.

Full details of the RCA Summer Jump Championship, including all remaining fixtures, can be found here.