Diplomacy could have Sefton mission on his agenda

Mickey Bowen’s rapidly-improving Art Of Diplomacy has multiple weekend options with a spin around the National fences looking particularly tempting.

The nine-year-old was busy all through the summer, barely putting a foot wrong with five successive wins over fences interrupted only by a defeat on the Flat.

At Chepstow last month he looked set to add a sixth victory of the year to his impressive record, but a final-fence fall put paid to that.

He is none the worse for the tumble and holds a host of entries for the weekend, with the Grand Sefton at Aintree looking an attractive option for a stable that had plenty of form over the big fences when Mickey’s father Peter held the licence.

“He’s entered everywhere, we’re just going to pick the best race for him over the weekend,” said the younger Bowen, brother to jockeys Sean and James.

“It was a real shame last time, he was going to go and bolt up, but he’s just improving and improving and we’re really excited about him.

“He has surprised us, we thought he’d win a few but he’s just kept going and kept winning.

“His work has always been very good at home and he’s improving all the time, I don’t know how good he could be.

“If he goes in the Sefton at the weekend he could be a National horse one day, who knows?

“He stays all day so that’s a possibility. We’ve got him entered in everywhere, we’ll find the best race for him this weekend and take it from there.”