He’s yet to recapture that exciting early-career form as a three-year-old, but two years on the stepping stones are well in place for a home-course five-year-old at Wednesday’s Kensington meeting.

Sydney Bowler, a talented and still lightly raced gelding in the John O’Shea and Tom Charlton stable, tackles a competitive Benchmark 78 Handicap for the older gallopers over 1250m to close the meeting.

It comes three weeks after he returned to racing at Canterbury for his first run since early May.

Settling a mile off the speed and in an unsuitably run race, Sydney Bowler still picked up late under a hefty 61kg to finish just over three lengths from the winner in BM 72 company.

And with a significant 3kg weight drop, Sydney Bowler emerges as one of the real value “plays” across the meeting.

See Full Page