Hitting the bullseye: Sean Bowen rides double to bring up 50 for the season

Tuesday: Worcester

Sean Bowen brought up his half-century for the season with a quickfire double for his father Peter despite missing out in the two-runner opener aboard the Laura Morgan-trained odds-on favourite The Vollan.

Bowen recovered from that disappointment to reach 50 in the next race on Judge Earle, who produced a tidy display to win the 2m7f handicap chase just five days after finishing third at Stratford.

The rider's double was completed when 4-7 favourite Letterston Lady dashed clear in the mares' bumper to record her first success.

Bowen is chasing Brian Hughes at the top of the season's standings and was full of praise for the form of his father's horses, and said: "It was a great day to get two winners and to make it to 50 wins for the season. Dad's horses are in fine fettle.

"We thought Judge Earle would win five days ago, but he was a bit disappointing so we decided to run him again. Letterston Lady put in a really professional performance. We've always thought she was quite nice and she won impressively."

Imperial measures up

The Middleham Park-owned ten-year-old Imperial Knight got the better of 1-2 shot The Vollan in the 2m7f novice chase despite jockey Kielan Woods dropping his whip after the final fence.

Imperial Knight, who was scoring for the first time over fences, was the first of three winners on the day for trainer Ben Pauling, who also recorded a double at Bangor.

Tom Palin, director of racing for Middleham Park, said: "Ben was pretty confident that if he jumped well enough he'd be able to run a big race, and it shows that there's still life in the old dog yet!"

Results, replays and analysis

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