bet365 West Yorkshire Hurdle
Grade 2, Wetherby 14:22
£50,000 guaranteed,
4yo plus,
3m 26y, Class 1   
Saturday 1st November 2025

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1 Strong Leader 15/8
2 Take No Chances 9/2
3 Doddiethegreat 14/1
5 ran Distances: nk, 1¼l, 5l
Time: 5m 53.75s (slow by 1.75s)

Champion jockey Sean Bowen once more illustrated why he sits at the top of the tree, conjuring every last ounce from the “bone idle” Strong Leader to snatch victory in the very final stride. Giving weight away all round, Olly Murphy’s eight-year-old — a horse who comes alive on a flat track — added a second Grade Two to his CV, complementing his Liverpool Hurdle triumph of 2024.

For much of the contest, however, the script looked unlikely to end in his favour. Bowen was at work early, niggling and cajoling as his brother James attempted to dictate from the outset aboard Doddiethegreat, only for Harry Skelton to sweep past on Take No Chances turning for home. She appeared to have delivered the winning move, but Strong Leader found a late and surging response, lunging where it mattered to get up by a neck.

“I don’t think I’ve done a good job of training him since he came back in from his break. We did a few things a bit differently, I’ve minded him a bit and haven’t been as hard on him as usual and you do need to be quite hard on him because he’s bone idle,” said Murphy.

“He’s got loads of ability. He’s only had a couple of away days and what would usually be his third bit of work was only his second – I wish he’d had a bit in between but we got away with it.

“He’s a remarkable horse but he wants flat tracks, and I know I keep saying it but he does.

“We talk about Sean every day but he was fantastic there. There were three great jockeys battling away there – that’s British jump racing right there and I’m pleased we came out on top, it was a proper horse race.

“Mine stays very well and I think a truer run race will suit him better, hopefully there’s more good races in him.

“He’s had a hard race there so we’ll see about Newbury but he will have a set of cheekpieces soon to help Sean.”

Bet365 West Yorkshire Hurdle
£50,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 3m 26y, Class 1
5 ran
Going: Good

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1    Strong Leader 8 11-8 Olly Murphy Sean Bowen 15/8
2 nk Take No Chances 7 11-1 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 9/2
3 1¼ Doddiethegreat 9 11-6 Nicky Henderson James Bowen 14/1
4 5 Winter Fog 11 11-2 W P Mullins Brian Hayes 8/1
FELL Potters Charm 6 11-5 Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies 13/8

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