Hugh Bowman believes this year’s LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on 10 December will be wide open, with the winner likely to be determined by the luck of the draw.
The 12 elite riders competing in the 2025 edition will gather for the traditional Jockeys’ Allocation ceremony in Hong Kong on 8 December, where their mounts and barrier positions will be assigned for the night.
Bowman dismisses suggestions that familiarity with the Happy Valley circuit might give him or other Hong Kong-based riders — former IJC winners Zac Purton and Vincent Ho — any meaningful advantage.
“I’d say all the jockeys in the competition this year have ridden there before, so they will be familiar with it,” Bowman said. “They are all world-class riders, and I think it will be determined more by what horses are drawn than anything else.”
Bowman is no stranger to the jockey challenge format and remains one of its most successful participants. He highlights past victories, including winning the LONGINES IJC in 2016 and lifting 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 claimed the prestigious Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle, awarded to the top individual scorer at the Shergar Cup.
“The International Jockeys’ Championship will always be a great spectacle, and it will be a great week of racing in Hong Kong with the International Races on the following Sunday,” Bowman said. “It’s always good to be part of it.”
The HK$1 million LONGINES IJC will launch a blue-riband week of racing in Hong Kong, leading into the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races on Sunday, 14 December. Despite nearly two decades at the top of world racing, the 2017 LONGINES World’s Best Jockey and Australian Racing Hall of Famer remains as enthusiastic as ever when Hong Kong’s showcase week arrives.
“Financially, this challenge will be far more rewarding than any other jockey challenge I’ve participated in, so that certainly adds something to it,” he said. “It’s also lovely to catch up with your fellow riders who you meet throughout the year but only in passing. For this, we all settle in, spend a few days together, and then get there on the night for solid racing. It has a very good feel to it, and the competition will always be very tight.”
Alongside 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, Umberto Rispoli, and the defending champion Mickael Barzalona.
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