Booster Bob

The Murphy yard at Wilmcote has been in rampant form this season — 146 winners and counting — and Booster Bob has done his share of the heavy lifting at the very top end. He has won two of the most prestigious types of race in Britain: a Class 1 at Sandown in December 2023 and another Class 1 at Newbury in March 2025, followed by a Class 2 at Newbury in November 2025. That Newbury win in November, the Sir Peter O'Sullevan Handicap, was worth £100,000 in prize money. Murphy later admitted he was watching from the stands, increasingly convinced something had gone badly wrong, as Booster Bob dropped to the back of the field before Sean Bowen produced something extraordinary to bring him storming home. "Halfway round I thought Sean was getting sacked, and I thought I was too," Murphy said afterwards. It was, in his own word, remarkable.

Much of that magic is down to what Murphy and Bowen have built together. Bowen has ridden Booster Bob in 16 of his 17 races, winning 7 of them — a win rate of 44%, nearly 3 in every 7 rides. That kind of partnership, a jockey who knows every quirk of a horse and a horse that seems to save its best for him, is rare and genuinely valuable. Murphy has been publicly effusive about his stable jockey: the trust between them was visible in Bowen's decision to bide his time at Newbury when most riders might have panicked.

The one area where Booster Bob is essentially unbeatable is over longer distances. In races between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, he has won 3 from 4 — 75%, or three-quarters of everything he has attempted. Murphy has hinted at going further, though he acknowledges the horse can be keen. With a big spring target likely on the horizon and a trainer who still believes there is another major handicap to be won, Booster Bob is worth keeping a close eye on.