ONCE again the star 16-year-old jockey from Pembrokeshire, James Bowen, was on a big Saturday winner.

This was in a £50,000 handicap hurdle at Ascot, riding Jenkins. This much-touted horse has disappointed more often than not, until a week ago when winning at Kempton with first-time blinkers.

Trainer Nicky Henderson doesn’t often run his horses twice in seven days, but he did this time and put Bowen up to claim five pounds while he still had the chance.

The teenager rode winners for other yards at Fontwell on Sunday and Fakenham on Monday. Both were made favourite and it’s likely that many of his rides from now on will be short in the betting.

Trainer David Evans revealed on Sunday that he has been recuperating from a severe health scare. He was rushed to hospital at the end of November with acute stomach pains, which turned out to be pancreatitis. He was kept in for eight days and still felt poorly when allowed out, but has made a good recovery.

Evans now needs to avoid alcohol, though, and admits that is quite a challenge given his old habits. He told the Racing Post: "Abstinence is not hard, not at the moment anyway. I just have to think about the pain I was in and the warning the doctors gave me, which was that if I had another drink it could kill me.”

At least the ten winners from his yard at Pandy since he was taken ill have softened the blow.

It was a pleasant winter’s afternoon at Chepstow last Friday, notable for the fact that favourites won all six races.

That’s fairly unusual, all the more so because fields weren’t particularly small, and only one of them was odds on. That was Jammin Masters, who made all the running under Richard Johnson until looking in trouble approaching the last.

Trixster had rallied gamely to dispute the lead at that fateful final obstacle, only to come down and leave the favourite to coast to a wide-margin victory.

There was plenty of money for Scorpion Sid in the first, a novice hurdle, which he won comfortably and in the style of a very promising horse.

Ramses De Teille repeated his November course and distance win in the three mile novice chase and could make up into a Welsh National prospect.

The evergreen Paddy The Oscar, now a 15 year old, looked well and jumped impeccably in the long distance handicap chase but could only stay on to be third to Richard Johnson’s other winner Back To The Thatch, another potential Welsh National type.

Gwent-born flat race jockey David Probert has been enjoying the warmer climes of Mumbai. He rode a double on Sunday, one of which was in the Indian Oaks.

The next racing at Chepstow is on Friday, February 2. The next big meeting is Winter Ladies Day on Saturday, 24 February, which features a variety of Best Dressed competitions, a luxury fashion show, and Six Nations games being shown on TVs around the course.