Bowe perplexed by Kiln flop
Michael Bowe’s raider was well fancied for the inaugural running of the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle but could finish only 11th of the 13 runners.
“She’s fine, no ill effects at all, it was just a disappointing run,” Bowe said.
“There are no excuses, it was just the end of a long, hard season I think. We gave her a short break to freshen her up but obviously it didn’t work that well.
“She gave all the signs that she was good and well before the race but it’s hard once a mare starts to lose her form. You can get the geldings back a bit quicker but it’s difficult with mares.”
Sweet Kiln won two of her six starts this term, claiming Grade Two prizes at Navan and Leopardstown, and Bowe is next term lining up a similar campaign.
“I would imagine that will be it for the season now and she will have similar sort of targets next year,” he added.
“She seems to run well fresh and was very good at the beginning of the season, which is maybe part of the problem as Cheltenham comes very near the end of the year.
“It’s tough for the horses that are firing in the early part of the season to hold their form after Christmas.”
