Bowman to fly flag for Australia
DEFENDING champion Hugh Bowman has been confirmed as Australia’s representative for the International Jockeys Championship in Hong Kong.
Bowman will be among eight overseas riders competing against four from Hong Kong in the world’s richest jockey challenge.
The Sydney jockey is vying for the title of world’s best jockey for 2017 with Ryan Moore, the champion English rider who will also take part in the series.
Brazil’s Hong Kong-based star Joao Moreira will be joined by compatriots Silvestre de Sousa and Leandro Henrique in the Happy Valley championship.
Bowman, the regular rider of champion mare Winx, is serving a suspension out of the Melbourne Cup carnival and he will return to riding on November 22 in Japan where he has a short-term contract.
The International Jockeys Championship on December 6 will be part of the build-up to the Hong Kong International race day on December 10.
Meanwhile, an overseas campaign for Redzel has been all but ruled out to give Australia’s premier sprinter every chance of winning the Everest for a second time.
Redzel confirmed his ascension to the top of Australia’s sprinting ranks with a clear-cut win in the Darley Classic at Flemington on Saturday.
The Group 1 win, the second of Redzel’s career, came a month after his victory in the The Everest at Randwick.
Often the Darley Classic winner is courted by officials to run in the King’s Stand Stakes or the Diamond Jubilee Stakes but the connections of Redzel appear almost certain to knock back a Royal Ascot invitation.
“Our main priority is The Everest,” managing owner Chris Ward said.