Our questions are answered by the five-time champion jockey, who is still heavily involved in racing as an owner and breeder
Australian star Hugh Bowman was one half of one of the most outstanding partnerships in racing history as the jockey of the great Winx, who won four consecutive Cox Plates during a legendary 33-race winning spree that featured a world record 25 G1 wins.
Since that period the 45-year-old with more than 100 G1 wins to his name has successfully relocated to Hong Kong. He has twice won the Hong Kong Derby, while his association with Werther also returned victories in the QEII Cup, Hong Kong Gold Cup and Champions & Chater Cup.
Bowman served his apprenticeship in Sydney under Ron Quinton then, when he was 27, he took up an offer to ride in Britain for a season from trainer Mick Channon.
“Things started to gather momentum after I went home from the experience in the UK,” says Bowman. “It was very foreign to me, travelling to all the tracks but I remember it vividly.”
He certainly does, having returned to the UK earlier this month to beat all-comers to claim the Silver Saddle as most successful rider as Ascot’s popular Shergar Cup jockeys’ competition – 18 years after he first claimed the title in 2007.
Which racing figure past or present do you most admire?
I would have to say John Magnier. I have never met him personally, but I’ve ridden for him and his family. Now being at a stage where I can see what Coolmore has become and his vision, it is quite remarkable.
Which is your favourite venue, and race, anywhere in the world?
Even though there are better racecourses, my favourite venue is Randwick because it’s my home track. My favourite race is the Everest. I’ve never won it but I’ve ridden in it four or five times. If you go there and feel the energy and anticipation, it is something I have never experienced anywhere else.
Who is your favourite racehorse and why?
My favourite racehorse is Winx. We would have loved to have raced Winx at Ascot. It was very closely considered; not that any decision was up to me. The thought of her running up the straight mile in the Queen Anne or in Dubai would have been pretty special.
And why not try her on the dirt? She was by Street Cry. Rather than be so short-sighted as to see those opportunities as missed, I prefer to appreciate her for what she did achieve and that was unprecedented. She didn’t travel but she was open to any competition that was willing to travel to her and they stopped coming.
On the subject of great horses, I saw Frankel race live both at Ascot and Goodwood and he has to be in the conversation as well.
What is your fondest memory in racing?
When I won the Japan Cup on Cheval Grand in 2017 it gave me the points to be the Longines World’s Best Jockey. Not that that was a goal or significant vision for me at the time, but it was at the time Winx was racing and I had won 16 or 17 global G1s.
It was by far my best year in the saddle. It quintessentialised the fact I had been to Japan a few times. It was hard work. I was out of my comfort zone but it accumulated in winning one of the biggest races on the world stage. It all came together in one race. Although Winx gave me many big races, the feeling with her was different because the responsibility was so mighty, the expectation was unreal.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?
We could give the greater public a greater understanding and appreciation of what magnificent athletes these animals are, how well looked after they are and how much they mean as individuals to the people that look after them and own them.
People outside don’t understand how important the horse is to us. The industry is driven by the financial dollar, like any other industry, which comes from the wagering. That’s not where the heart is. Maybe if we could be more proactive in helping people understand that, we’d be better off.
Hugh Bowman was speaking to Jon Lees
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