Richard Bevan – National Hunt Season Analysis 1987/88 | Amateur Jockey Profile

Richard Bevan’s 1987/88 National Hunt season consisted of 50 rides across handicap hurdles, novice chases, hunters’ chases and National Hunt flat races. Although riding as an amateur, most of his opportunities came in open company against professional jockeys rather than in amateur-restricted events.

While Crowecopper delivered the breakthrough victory of the campaign in November 1987, Baluchi ultimately became the season’s defining horse, recording three wins during a highly productive spell between March and April 1988.

Viewed as a whole, the season demonstrated growing competitiveness in established handicap company and provided a solid platform of experience across a wide range of British National Hunt racecourses.

A total of 50 rides were recorded during the season, with 42 completed finishes representing a completion rate of 84%. The average starting price of 20.6/1 indicates that Bevan was regularly associated with outsiders in competitive fields.

The season produced 4 wins (8%), 4 second places (8%), 6 third places (12%) and 5 fourth places (10%), giving a total of 19 top-four finishes and a first-four strike rate of 38%.

Despite the relatively high average starting price of his mounts, Bevan maintained a respectable level of consistency throughout the campaign, regularly placing horses in competitive positions.

Non-completions included 2 falls (4%), 1 unseated rider (2%), 2 brought down (4%), 2 pulled up (4%) and 1 slipped up (2%), reflecting the demands and unpredictability of National Hunt racing.

The season opened at Devon & Exeter in August 1987 and featured regular rides through the autumn at racecourses including Hereford, Cheltenham, Wetherby and Plumpton. Early results were largely educational, with experience gained in competitive handicap and novice company.

The first major success arrived in November when Crowecopper won the Salt Hill Handicap Chase at Windsor. The victory represented an important breakthrough and confirmed Bevan’s ability to compete successfully in open handicap company.

The strongest phase of the campaign came during the spring of 1988. Baluchi developed into the season’s most productive partner, recording victories at Ludlow, Market Rasen and Perth between March and April. Those three successes accounted for 75% of the season’s winners and transformed a steady campaign into a notably successful one.

The season concluded in May after a sustained run of competitive performances, with several horses continuing to contribute placed efforts across both hurdle and chase disciplines.

Crowecopper played an important role during the first half of the season, providing Bevan’s breakthrough victory at Windsor and adding further placed performances in handicap chase company, including a second-place finish at Ludlow in January 1988.

Annie Ra was another regular mount, appearing frequently in handicap hurdles and novice chases throughout the campaign and contributing valuable racecourse experience.

Baluchi emerged as the defining horse of the season. Victories at Ludlow, Market Rasen and Perth established the partnership as the campaign’s principal success story and produced the most sustained winning sequence of the year.

Rimfire also contributed consistent hunter chase form, recording a second-place finish at Hereford alongside several other placed efforts during the spring months.

The defining achievement of the season was the progression from early experience in competitive handicap company to repeated success during the closing months of the campaign.

Crowecopper’s Windsor victory provided the initial breakthrough, but it was Baluchi’s sequence of spring wins that ultimately shaped the season’s identity. Three victories in a relatively short period established the horse as the outstanding contributor to Bevan’s seasonal record.

Together, those performances demonstrated growing confidence, experience and effectiveness against established opposition.

Richard Bevan’s 1987/88 season reflected a year of development, experience and increasing competitiveness within National Hunt racing. Across 50 rides he recorded four victories and nineteen top-four finishes while regularly competing in open handicap company.

Although much of the campaign was spent gaining experience in competitive fields, the latter stages of the season produced tangible results through the partnerships with Crowecopper and, most notably, Baluchi.

Viewed historically, the season stands as a successful amateur campaign that combined valuable racecourse experience with a sequence of meaningful victories and competitive performances across the British jumping circuit.