Bowman aims for more Shergar Cup success

By J A McGrath

Hugh Bowman returns to his favourite racecourse in the UK as part of the Rest of the World team in the Shergar Cup at Ascot on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Racing, and reflects on his Sliding Doors moment at the Sydney Cricket Ground nearly two decades ago.

Bowman, the multiple Sydney champion, will forever be remembered as the jockey, who rode the great Australian mare Winx in a career spanning six seasons (2014-19), in which she won 37 of her 43 starts (including four Cox Plates), the last 33 in succession. He has ridden 100 Group 1 winners worldwide.

But it could have all been very different if not for an unexpected meeting with Mick Channon at the fifth test as Australia hammered England in the 2006-7 Ashes series. Bowman’s grandfather Roger Wotton fixed up a rendezvous after being told the West Ilsley trainer was looking for a jockey back in England.

“It was actually the turning point of my career,” the jockey recalls. “I was running second to Darren Beadman in the Sydney championship - a distant second at that - despite riding for Gai Waterhouse.

“When I told Gai I had been invited to ride in England, she replied ‘Well, you just have to go.‘ And that was that. The timing was right for me. I stayed three months in the UK and rode everywhere…Warwick, Musselburgh, Ayr, Nottingham, but I was regularly at Salisbury, as well as Ascot and Newbury,” he says.

Having been around horses since childhood - at pony club, riding at country shows and picnic (amateur) racing - the added UK experience left him well-rounded and prepared for an unexpected development that led to him changing base in Australia.

“When I got back home, racing in Sydney shut down for more than three months because of an outbreak of Equine Influenza. I had a choice, either go back to England or go to Melbourne, where racing was carrying on. I re-located to Melbourne for the Spring Carnival.

“The momentum of my career was really starting to gather. The year after the EI outbreak, I won the jockeys’ championship in Sydney,” he points out. It was the first of four Sydney titles for the horseman from the Central West New South Wales township of Dunedoo.

Bowman, 45, is much-travelled but a ‘true blue’ Aussie. His ancestors came from Scotland and landed in Sydney five generations ago before settling on the land in the Hunter Valley. The remaining small part of that family property was acquired recently by Coolmore Australia. Dunedoo is where the family homestead is now located.

The Bowman connection with Channon was rekindled in 2011 when he returned for a shorter stint with the trainer. But he was more selective on what he rode and where.

“Mick and I have become very good friends. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and I have no problem with that. He doesn’t come from a quintessential British racing background. He worked his way to where he is. Mick and his family were excellent to me. I’m looking forward to reuniting with them when I’m back in the UK.

“His son Jack (who has taken over the licence) lived with us for a while in Sydney when he was working for John O’Shea for 12 months,” he adds.

Bowman, who finished second in the title battle in his just-completed second full season in Hong Kong, is eager for the Shergar Cup to commence. He captained the winning Rest of the World team in 2007 when he also collected the Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle for the best individual points score in the competition.

“The year I won it, the crowd were really into it. It’s plain to see the Shergar Cup crowd is very different. They are people who go predominantly for the enjoyment of the day and they find the racing entertaining.

“All the colours of the jockeys’ silks are different to the normal raceday. But, it’s one day of the year….and it’s working well. The crowds tell you that.” 

Ascot are expecting between 25,000 to 30,000 on Saturday.

This year, Bowman joins captain Karis Teetan, from Mauritius, who he knows well from Hong Kong, as well as American Katie Davis, star of the Netflix series Race For The Crown, in the Rest of the World team.

There are four teams but no specific ‘Girls Team’ this year. Female riders have been integrated into the following - Asia, Rest of the World, Great Britain and Ireland, and Europe - in this constantly evolving series, which is now in its 27th year.

“What I love about these competitions is that you get to ride and compete against some of the best jockeys in the world. But the stakes aren’t quite as high, so you can enjoy each other’s company and camaraderie,” Bowman explains.

“Usually, we are brought together riding the top horses and that’s where the pressure comes. As a participant, the Shergar Cup is lovely. Quite relaxing in a way. Having said that, there is an important element of competition and we all want to win."

Before we finish our conversation, I felt compelled to ask about his Winx recollections. 

Did he feel pressure, particularly as the winning sequence stretched to an incredible 33 successes? “After the second Cox Plate, the expectation started to build. But I had so much confidence in Winx. And Chris Waller (trainer) managed her so meticulously.

“Maybe I just handled it in my own way. I bubbled myself into my own thoughts. I tried to eliminate any outside noise. I made a point of not reading any press. It was mentally very taxing, and when it stopped, the emotion and adrenaline that built up in my body took effect. I fell in a heap for a couple of months.

“Winx was absolutely exceptional. She did it on any ground, over a wide variety of distances. Over many seasons. I don’t have to sell her. Her record is there to see.”

Hugh Bowman concludes with a final comment about the day and the racecourse: “I get a buzz riding at Ascot. It was my favourite track when I rode in the UK and I rode it a lot. I haven’t been there since 2011 so I’m really looking forward to it.

“As for the Shergar Cup itself, it is a special day and has been for a long time.“