'He's an unstoppable machine' - Jockeys to follow this weekend We've got an exciting weekend of horse racing action to look forward to across Britain and Ireland. Saturday’s entertainment includes a couple of excellent cards from Aintree and Wincanton, whilst Naas and Sandown take centre stage on Sunday. There will be plenty of opportunities to back a winner or two and, with that in mind, we’ve picked out four top jockeys who could be worth keeping on side across the weekend. Harry Cobden Having turned 27 this week, Harry Cobden is probably the best big race jockey in Britain at the moment and he’s a naturally gifted horseman. He’ll be heading to Wincanton on Saturday and he landed a treble at the same meeting last year. Cobden has a delicious book of rides this year and is set to have seven chances of landing a winner. All of them have some sort of chance but the likes of Jubilee Alpha, Rubaud and Blueking d’Oroux look very hard to beat in their respective races. It would be no surprise if Cobden lands four or five winners on the day and he’ll probably have a couple of decent chances at Ffos Las or Sandown on Sunday too. Paul Townend There are few more enviable jobs in existence than being stable jockey to Willie Mullins and Paul Townend has more than earned the right. He focuses on quality over quantity and, despite not riding on Saturday, he could have a couple of very nice chances at Naas on Sunday. The highlight of Naas’ card is the Grade 3 Barberstown Castle Chase and Willie Mullins has entered Champ Kiely and Ile Atlantique, with both horses having massive chances. Champ Kiely is very adaptable with regards to trip and Ile Atlantique is a Grade 2 course and distance winner. More Coko could line up in the following beginners’ chase and the Carlisle novice hurdle winner should be competitive if lining up. Mark Walsh Probably the second-best position for a jump jockey in Ireland, Walsh is retained rider for JP McManus and he has been in good form in the last couple of weeks, operating at a very healthy strike-rate. He has four rides at Gowran on Saturday and Whatsanotheryear might be the most interesting of them. The Patrick Flynn-trained gelding finished second behind a useful Willie Mullins horse when last seen and should be up to winning a maiden sooner or later. Declarations for Sunday’s racing haven’t been made at the time of writing but there are any number of potentially interesting McManus horses who could line up at Naas. Walsh surely won’t be far away from the winner’s enclosure. Sean Bowen Sean Bowen is an unstoppable machine at the moment and he heads to Aintree on Saturday. Chasing Fire looks interesting in the Pertemps qualifier and he also rides chasing debutant Andy Amo for Rebecca Curtis in the novice handicap chase. Undoubtedly his most interesting ride comes in the big race, the Grand Sefton, where he rides White Rhino for Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero. Very progressive as a novice last season, there could be more to come and this could prove to be a very suitable test.
