Luck of draw key to LONGINES IJC success, says Bowman ahead of showpiece week

By Paul Ryding

Hugh Bowman believes this year’s LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on 10 December is wide open, with the winner of the annual showcase likely to be decided by the luck of the draw.

The 12 elite riders who will compete at the 2025 edition will gather for the Jockeys’ Allocation, which determines each of the jockeys’ rides on the night, at a traditional ceremony in Hong Kong on 8 December.

Bowman dismissed suggestions that familiarity with the Happy Valley track might provide him and the other local competitors, former IJC winners Zac Purton and Vincent Ho, with an added advantage.

“I’d say all of the jockeys that are in the competition this year have all ridden there, so they’re more familiar with it,” Bowman said. “They’re all, obviously, world-class riders, and I think it’s going to be more determined by what horses are drawn than anything else.”

Bowman is no stranger to the jockey challenge format and could fairly be considered something of an expert in the discipline. He won the LONGINES IJC in 2016 as well as Ascot’s Shergar Cup in 2007 as captain of the Rest of the World team. He is also the only non-European rider to have twice won the illustrious Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle, awarded to the individual jockey with the most Shergar Cup points.

“(IJC) is always a great spectacle, and it’s a great week of racing in Hong Kong with the International Races on the following Sunday,” Bowman said. “It’s always good to be a part of it.”

The HK$1 million LONGINES IJC kickstarts a blue-riband week of racing in Hong Kong, culminating in the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races meeting on Sunday, 14 December. And despite almost two decades at world racing’s top table, the 2017 LONGINES World’s Best Jockey and Australian Racing Hall of Famer remains as enthusiastic as ever when Hong Kong’s showpiece week of the calendar rolls around.

“Financially, this challenge is far more rewarding than any other jockey challenge I’ve participated in, so that certainly adds a bit of character to things,” Bowman added. “It’s just lovely to catch up with your fellow riders who you’ve come across throughout the calendar year, but you pass in the wind a little bit. Whereas (for) this, we all settle in, have a few days together and get there on the night for good solid racing. It’s got a very good feel about it and the competition is always very tight.”

In addition to Purton and Ho, Bowman will be joined by William Buick, Hollie Doyle, Rachel King, James McDonald, Ryan Moore (subject to fitness), Joao Moreira, Christophe Lemaire and Umberto Rispoli as well as the defending champion Mickael Barzalona.