Hong Kong Racing
Hugh Bowman seeks to maintain December momentum at Sha Tin
Hugh Bowman will aim to continue an impressive run of form at Sha Tin on Saturday (20 December) as he prepares to tackle a book of seven rides at the meeting.
The Australian Racing Hall of Famer is rounding out 2025 with momentum, piloting six winners, eight seconds and a third so far in December.
That run included a Wednesday night double at Happy Valley, where next week's mid-week meeting will be held on Tuesday (23 December).
He remains a long way adrift of champion jockey Zac Purton, who sits at the summit of the jockeys' standings with an incredible 48 winners this term, but Bowman's run of form has taken his tally to 22 wins, five clear of Luke Ferraris in third.
"I've had a good couple of weeks, and let's hope we can keep it going through into the new year," Bowman said.
Possibly his best chance of boosting his win count this weekend lies with the Danny Shum-trained Gorgeous Win (132lb), who contests a highly competitive Class 2 feature, the Ivy Handicap (1200m).
Bowman, however, was bullish about the credentials of five-year-old Gorgeous Win , who registered his sixth career victory from 28 outings when he landed the Class 2 Chatham Handicap (1200m) on the Sha Tin dirt two weeks ago.
"He won with authority. There's no questioning the horse's class," Bowman said. "What impressed me leading up to that win was he was really moving well and extending. And I was quietly confident that if he wanted to compete, then he could produce on that all-weather track, and that's exactly what happened. So I take confidence from that – the horse is now moving well."
It had been a lean spell of 10 races without success for the Press Statement gelding prior to that turnaround, but Bowman felt the switch to dirt helped.
"He wasn't enjoying the firm tracks here at Sha Tin on the grass and simply wasn't performing," Bowman said. "Getting back to the all-weather, with a bit more forgiveness in the ground, we saw what he was capable of, and it's nice to see him turn his form around.
"The track here at Sha Tin is not as firm as it was six months ago when he first raced on it," he added.
Shum revealed he would have preferred to continue campaigning Gorgeous Win on the dirt, given the option.
"Unfortunately, there are not many dirt races in Class 2. So I had to enter him in the turf race, but he got a good draw (four). Hopefully, his mind is open and he can run a good race," Shum said.
Meanwhile, Shum has confirmed that his stable star Romantic Warrior will not challenge for the G1 Saudi Cup (1800m, dirt) in February, and that instead the history-making gelding will be aimed at this year's Triple Crown series.
Connections of the four-time G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup-winning seven-year-old were considering another crack at the Saudi Arabia showpiece, after their charge fell agonisingly short in a thrilling contest last year.
The Triple Crown consists of the G1 Stewards' Cup (1600m) on 25 January, the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) on 1 March and the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) on 24 May.
It was claimed last season by Ricky Yiu-trained Voyage Bubble, who became only the second horse in Hong Kong racing history after River Verdon in 1993/94 to achieve the feat.
Saturday's (20 December) 11-race fixture at Sha Tin starts at 1pm with the Class 5 Amaryllis Handicap (1400m).
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