Sean Bowen says he is keeping his feet on the ground

Last season's champion conditonal Sean Bowen says winning the jockeys' championship title this season is "not going to happen".

Bowen has been touted in some quarters as a potential successor to AP McCoy this season, but despite ending last season on a high when Just A Par won the Bet365 Gold Cup, the teenager is playing down his prospects and says his target for the campaign is to ride 80 winners.

Writing in a new blog for Market Rasen racecourse's website, he said: "The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, but unforgettable.

"I enjoyed a fantastic season and receiving my trophy from racing legend Tony McCoy was amazing.

"Achieving half a century of winners was really rewarding and I am setting out to better that total in 2015/16. I lost a couple of months through injury early this year after a fall at Catterick so that lost me a few opportunities to have enhanced my total of winners.

"This season I’m setting a target of 80 winners. Of course, I’m going to be trying for as many as I can, but I don’t think that figure is unrealistic.

"Obviously I ride many of the horses from my father Peter’s yard in west Wales, but I am attached to the stables of the champion trainer Paul Nicholls as a conditional jockey.

"While I know plenty of the bigger prospects in the yard in Pembrokeshire, Sam Twiston-Davies and Nick Scholfield ride the main horses for Paul Nicholls.

"There’s not a bad horse in Mr Nicholls’ yard of course!  It’s just brilliant to work there. I am riding out superb horses all the time. It’s great experience and I am learning so much at the yard and everyone is very helpful."

Bowen went on to nominate some of the horses trained by his father he is looking forward to most this season.

"Aintree bumper winner Hollies Pearl is a smashing horse. A five-year-old mare, she’s unbeaten in three outings to date in 2015 and is going to progress into a lovely novice hurdler during this season.

"My first winner of the 2015/16 campaign is another horse I like. That’s Henllan Harri who won on his handicap debut at Uttoxeter at the start of May. He’s a strong galloper. He will probably have one more outing over hurdles before a summer break. In the autumn he’s set to come back novice chasing.

"Alfandora is set to make his racecourse debut at Market Rasen on Friday 8th May. He’s working well at home and we have high hopes for him."

Bowen said that he hopes Richard Johnson will be crowned champion jockey for the first time this season.

"I’m making sure, as is everyone else around me, that I keep my feet on the ground," he said. "Nothing is achieved without hard work and I’m going to make all the effort that’s required to succeed.  here will be ups and downs along the way; every jump jockey knows that.

"I’m told the top tipster at the Racing Post suggested I was worth a bet to become champion jockey at a long price. That’s not going to happen. I think Richard Johnson will win. He so deserves it after being runner-up to Tony McCoy so often – and he’s made a cracking start to the season."