Hugh Bowman Secures Sydney Jockeys' Title
- Wednesday, 29 July 2015 07:51
The gripping battle for the Sydney jockeys' premiership was put to bed after two races at Canterbury on Wednesday as Hugh Bowman continued his indomitable form to clinch the crown.
Bowman went into the final Sydney meeting of the season with a 2-1/2 win buffer over James McDonald and 3-1/2 wins ahead of Blake Shinn.
But the title race took a twist when McDonald was stood down after the first race due to illness, leaving Shinn to do the chasing.
It was a brief pursuit with Bowman producing a masterful ride to win the second race on Sebring Sun and establish an unassailable lead.
He made it a double two races later aboard Raido for Kris Lees to take his final season tally of city wins to 96, capping a brilliant season in which he also finished as the leading Group One rider.
Bowman said there was a sense of accomplishment in securing his third Sydney jockeys' title, particularly given the premiership that eluded him two seasons ago when he was unexpectedly run down by Nash Rawiller.
"Absolutely. It does mean a great deal," Bowman said.
"It's not something I aim for at the start of the season anymore having won it before, but especially having let one go it does mean something.
"To come back and win it again, that's three over a span of about eight years, it means I haven't been a one-hit wonder.
"And I haven't had the support of one stable for any of them, I've been freelance each time I've won."
Bowman is renowned for staying cool under pressure, a trait which no doubt helped him bag 11 winners in the final two weeks of the season.
His calm was called on at Canterbury when Sebring Sun's trainer Gary Portelli was overtaken by pre-race nerves.
Portelli has Golden Rose ambitions for Sebring Sun and got the jitters about the horse delivering from a wide gate on Wednesday.
"He (Bowman) said to me before the race, `calm down, I'll get the job done'," Portelli said.
"I told him I don't get this nervous before a Group One race."
Shinn and McDonald tied for second on 91-1/2 metropolitan wins but Shinn's Canterbury success aboard I'll Take The Jag meant he didn't end the season empty-handed.
The victory clinched him the NSW and Australian jockeys' titles.
"It's a reward for all the effort I've put in and to come out with the most amount of wins, it's very satisfying," Shinn said.
