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Hugh Bowman
James Hugh Bowman (born 14 July 1980) is an Australian thoroughbred racing jockey. Based in Sydney, Bowman has won the New South Wales Metropolitan Jockey Premiership four times (2008/09, 2011/12, 2014/15, 2016/17) and has ridden 100 Group 1 winners. He was the jockey for Australian champion mare Winx from 2014 through to her retirement in 2019. In 2017, Bowman won the Longines World’s Best Jockey award presented by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. The award capped off a year in which he added to his domestic success with international Group 1 wins in Hong Kong and Japan. In 2019, he was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, the industry’s highest accolade. Bowman is also renowned for his “She’s Apples” winning salute and his nickname of “the Undisputed Group 1 King”.
James Hugh Bowman was born on 14 July 1980 in Dunedoo, NSW. His family spent time on three different properties when he was a child – Cairn Hill, Burrgoen, before his parents decided to return to the family farm, Merotherie, in 1993. The same year, Bowman left to commence his secondary schooling, boarding at The Scots College in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Growing up on cattle and sheep properties, Bowman has stated that horses were always an integral part of the working farm and a connection with them was formed early in his life. Bowman also comes from a lineage of horsemen. His grandfather, great uncle, father and uncle all rode as amateur jockeys. Bowman himself was a member of the local pony club until he was 15, riding in country shows and displaying natural horsemanship. He also grew up playing polocrosse, campdrafting and riding in picnic races. Bowman recalls being 13 when he decided that he wanted to pursue a career as a professional jockey. In 1997, he left school and secured an apprenticeship with trainer Leanne Aspros in Bathurst, where he was also mentored by her husband, Billy Aspros, who was 12-time champion jockey in the NSW Central Districts and a Group 1 winner (Turridu, 1995 George Main Stakes).
On 3 April 1996, Bowman had his first official ride as an amateur jockey at the Mungery Picnic Races in Narromine, NSW aboard Go Campese. Later that year on October 5, he rode his first winner at Wellington, NSW when he guided Slatts to win the Wellington Picnic Cup. By the end of his first apprentice season in 1998, Bowman was the champion apprentice jockey in the NSW Central Districts. In 1999, Bowman moved to Sydney for the final two years of his apprenticeship under the tutelage of jockey-turned-trainer Ron Quinton, who also hailed from Dunedoo. He was crowned champion apprentice in Sydney for the 1999/2000 season. In the spring of 2001, Bowman won his maiden group race when he rode Sportsbrat to victory in the Group 3 Missile Stakes at Rosehill Gardens. His first Group 1 win came on Defier in the 2004 Doomben Cup in Brisbane. The following year, Bowman finished runner-up to Darren Beadman in the 2004/05 NSW Metropolitan Jockey Premiership (colloquially known as the Sydney Jockeys Premiership), the highest award for NSW-based jockeys. He then claimed his first premiership in the 2008/09 season riding 98 winners from 482 starts at a strike rate of 20.3%. Bowman has since won three more titles in 2011/12, 2014/15 and 2016/17. As his career entered the 2010s, Bowman developed a strong association with trainer Chris Waller. He would go on to ride many feature race victories on Waller's horses, most notably Winx. During his career, Bowman has ridden:
On 5 March 2022, Bowman rode his 100th Group One winner when guiding Forbidden Love to win the Canterbury Stakes at Randwick.
Winx had five different jockeys across her first 11 starts in 2014 and 2015, including Bowman. His involvement with Winx began during the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival in 2014. Bowman’s first ride on Winx came at her third career start, on 6 September, in the Group 2 Furious Stakes at Royal Randwick. Winx won the race, making it 3 wins from 3 starts, while also registering her first feature race success. Two starts later, on 4 October, Bowman would ride Winx to a second-place finish in the Group 1 Flight Stakes at Royal Randwick behind First Seal.
Bowman did not ride Winx again until her twelfth career start during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival – a victory in the Group 1 Queensland Oaks at Doomben Racecourse on 30 May. This was Winx's first Group 1 success and the second triumph in what was to become her 33 consecutive race winning streak. Two starts later, after a 15-week spell and a return win in the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes at Rosehill Gardens, Bowman was back aboard Winx steering the mare to victory in the Group 1 Epsom Handicap at Royal Randwick on 3 October. From this race on, Bowman became the permanent jockey for Winx. He would have one more ride on the mare in 2015 when he travelled to Moonee Valley, Melbourne to ride her in the $3 million-dollar Group 1 W. S. Cox Plate – the weight-for-age championship of Australia. Starting as the $4.60 favourite, Winx and Bowman went on to win the race by 4&¾ lengths from Criterion and Irish galloper Highland Reel. The race was won in a record time of 2:02.98.
Bowman guided Winx to victory in her return to racing on 13 February in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes at Royal Randwick. He would then pilot Winx to three consecutive Group 1 wins over the course of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival – the Chipping Norton Stakes, George Ryder Stakes and the $3 million-dollar Doncaster Mile. After a 20-week spell, Winx returned in the spring on 20 August, with Bowman steering her to victory in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes at Royal Randwick. Then one month later, just as in the autumn, Bowman would ride Winx to three consecutive Group 1 victories over the course of five weeks. Wins in the George Main Stakes and Caulfield Stakes culminated in Winx and Bowman winning their second W. S. Cox Plate in a row. The race was won by a record margin of 8 lengths. Bowman became only the tenth jockey to win the race back-to-back, while Winx became the tenth horse in history to win two successive Cox Plates.
Bowman and Winx started off their 2017 autumn campaign in the exact same fashion as 2016 with a win in the Apollo Stakes at Royal Randwick on 13 February. Wins in the Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick and George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill followed on 25 February and 18 March respectively. While Winx and Bowman’s lead-up had been identical to the autumn of 2016, their end goal had shifted to the $4 million-dollar Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes. The race is the premier weight-for-age race of the Sydney Autumn Carnival and the showpiece event of The Championships – a two-day race meeting comprising the most lucrative races of the carnival, attracting horses from around the globe. Starting as the $1.12 short-priced favourite, Bowman guided Winx to a 5-length victory ahead of Hartnell and Sense of Occasion.
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Hugh Bowman
James Hugh Bowman (born 14 July 1980) is an Australian thoroughbred racing jockey. Based in Sydney, Bowman has won the New South Wales Metropolitan Jockey Premiership four times (2008/09, 2011/12, 2014/15, 2016/17) and has ridden 100 Group 1 winners. He was the jockey for Australian champion mare Winx from 2014 through to her retirement in 2019. In 2017, Bowman won the Longines World’s Best Jockey award presented by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. The award capped off a year in which he added to his domestic success with international Group 1 wins in Hong Kong and Japan. In 2019, he was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, the industry’s highest accolade. Bowman is also renowned for his “She’s Apples” winning salute and his nickname of “the Undisputed Group 1 King”.
James Hugh Bowman was born on 14 July 1980 in Dunedoo, NSW. His family spent time on three different properties when he was a child – Cairn Hill, Burrgoen, before his parents decided to return to the family farm, Merotherie, in 1993. The same year, Bowman left to commence his secondary schooling, boarding at The Scots College in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Growing up on cattle and sheep properties, Bowman has stated that horses were always an integral part of the working farm and a connection with them was formed early in his life. Bowman also comes from a lineage of horsemen. His grandfather, great uncle, father and uncle all rode as amateur jockeys. Bowman himself was a member of the local pony club until he was 15, riding in country shows and displaying natural horsemanship. He also grew up playing polocrosse, campdrafting and riding in picnic races. Bowman recalls being 13 when he decided that he wanted to pursue a career as a professional jockey. In 1997, he left school and secured an apprenticeship with trainer Leanne Aspros in Bathurst, where he was also mentored by her husband, Billy Aspros, who was 12-time champion jockey in the NSW Central Districts and a Group 1 winner (Turridu, 1995 George Main Stakes).
On 3 April 1996, Bowman had his first official ride as an amateur jockey at the Mungery Picnic Races in Narromine, NSW aboard Go Campese. Later that year on October 5, he rode his first winner at Wellington, NSW when he guided Slatts to win the Wellington Picnic Cup. By the end of his first apprentice season in 1998, Bowman was the champion apprentice jockey in the NSW Central Districts. In 1999, Bowman moved to Sydney for the final two years of his apprenticeship under the tutelage of jockey-turned-trainer Ron Quinton, who also hailed from Dunedoo. He was crowned champion apprentice in Sydney for the 1999/2000 season. In the spring of 2001, Bowman won his maiden group race when he rode Sportsbrat to victory in the Group 3 Missile Stakes at Rosehill Gardens. His first Group 1 win came on Defier in the 2004 Doomben Cup in Brisbane. The following year, Bowman finished runner-up to Darren Beadman in the 2004/05 NSW Metropolitan Jockey Premiership (colloquially known as the Sydney Jockeys Premiership), the highest award for NSW-based jockeys. He then claimed his first premiership in the 2008/09 season riding 98 winners from 482 starts at a strike rate of 20.3%. Bowman has since won three more titles in 2011/12, 2014/15 and 2016/17. As his career entered the 2010s, Bowman developed a strong association with trainer Chris Waller. He would go on to ride many feature race victories on Waller's horses, most notably Winx. During his career, Bowman has ridden:
On 5 March 2022, Bowman rode his 100th Group One winner when guiding Forbidden Love to win the Canterbury Stakes at Randwick.
Winx had five different jockeys across her first 11 starts in 2014 and 2015, including Bowman. His involvement with Winx began during the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival in 2014. Bowman’s first ride on Winx came at her third career start, on 6 September, in the Group 2 Furious Stakes at Royal Randwick. Winx won the race, making it 3 wins from 3 starts, while also registering her first feature race success. Two starts later, on 4 October, Bowman would ride Winx to a second-place finish in the Group 1 Flight Stakes at Royal Randwick behind First Seal.
Bowman did not ride Winx again until her twelfth career start during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival – a victory in the Group 1 Queensland Oaks at Doomben Racecourse on 30 May. This was Winx's first Group 1 success and the second triumph in what was to become her 33 consecutive race winning streak. Two starts later, after a 15-week spell and a return win in the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes at Rosehill Gardens, Bowman was back aboard Winx steering the mare to victory in the Group 1 Epsom Handicap at Royal Randwick on 3 October. From this race on, Bowman became the permanent jockey for Winx. He would have one more ride on the mare in 2015 when he travelled to Moonee Valley, Melbourne to ride her in the $3 million-dollar Group 1 W. S. Cox Plate – the weight-for-age championship of Australia. Starting as the $4.60 favourite, Winx and Bowman went on to win the race by 4&¾ lengths from Criterion and Irish galloper Highland Reel. The race was won in a record time of 2:02.98.
Bowman guided Winx to victory in her return to racing on 13 February in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes at Royal Randwick. He would then pilot Winx to three consecutive Group 1 wins over the course of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival – the Chipping Norton Stakes, George Ryder Stakes and the $3 million-dollar Doncaster Mile. After a 20-week spell, Winx returned in the spring on 20 August, with Bowman steering her to victory in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes at Royal Randwick. Then one month later, just as in the autumn, Bowman would ride Winx to three consecutive Group 1 victories over the course of five weeks. Wins in the George Main Stakes and Caulfield Stakes culminated in Winx and Bowman winning their second W. S. Cox Plate in a row. The race was won by a record margin of 8 lengths. Bowman became only the tenth jockey to win the race back-to-back, while Winx became the tenth horse in history to win two successive Cox Plates.
Bowman and Winx started off their 2017 autumn campaign in the exact same fashion as 2016 with a win in the Apollo Stakes at Royal Randwick on 13 February. Wins in the Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick and George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill followed on 25 February and 18 March respectively. While Winx and Bowman’s lead-up had been identical to the autumn of 2016, their end goal had shifted to the $4 million-dollar Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes. The race is the premier weight-for-age race of the Sydney Autumn Carnival and the showpiece event of The Championships – a two-day race meeting comprising the most lucrative races of the carnival, attracting horses from around the globe. Starting as the $1.12 short-priced favourite, Bowman guided Winx to a 5-length victory ahead of Hartnell and Sense of Occasion.
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