Has Hugh Bowman lost the plot? Weird ride on Farnan.

[Wandering Eyes]

First there was his effort that put Andrew Adkins on the ground and earnt a suspension.  Yesterday his unexplainable ride on Farnan!

 

[Wandering Eyes]

Chief Steward to Hugh Bowman 'That’s as aggressive as I’ve seen you on a horse'

Hugh Bowman. Source: Getty Images.

 

Clinton Payne6:42PM12 September 2020

Stewards adjourned an inquiry into Hugh Bowman’s ride aboard star colt Farnan after the three-year-old set up a hot speed and capitulated in the Group 2 Run To The Rose on Saturday.

Bowman, who returned from a six-week suspension on Saturday, was hauled into the Rosehill stewards’ room shortly after the three-year-old feature.

After leading up, Farnan, the $2.40 favourite, stopped in the straight to beat just two runners home.

Chief steward Marc Van Gestel told Bowman he felt the rider was “quite aggressive on Farnan” in the early stages.

"That’s as aggressive as I’ve seen you on a horse out of the gates,” he said. “Is there any reason why you rode in that manner. As aggressive as what you were?”

Bowman took exception to Van Gestel’s account of the events – stating the horse had gone about “five or six strides” before he asked Farnan to press on to take the lead.

He told stewards he was unable to come back behind Rothfire to secure cover due to horses being back to the inside of the Queenslander.

“When I showed my hand, my horse being first-up reacted and took off basically,” Bowman said. “I didn’t come out to lead at all costs.

“It was an instinctive decision at the time and once I made that decision to go forward and lead the race, the horse took charge of me really and took off.”

Van Gestel informed Bowman that Farnan ran his first 600m in 34.26 seconds from a standing start and he ran 10.34 from the 1000 to the 800m.

Ven Gestel asked Bowman why Farnan was running those times and he responded with “he’s a good horse” – appearing agitated at the line of questioning.

“Obviously he can’t sustain that pace, no horse can,” he said. “I understand why we’re in here and I explained why I did what I did.

“It’s not as though I went out there to run those times. Once I gave him the message (to go forward to cross Rothfire), I was a passenger.

“My experience is the best way to get a horse to relax is to work with the horse.

“Once I made the decision to press the button, and if I had my time again I wouldn’t have done that obviously, but it was an instinctive decision at the time.”

After Bowman gave his evidence the matter was adjourned for stewards to review the betting records on the race and continue their investigation into the ride.

[Wandering Eyes]

[Chief Stipe]

Bowman out again!  Will miss Cox Plate.

Hugh Bowman (King's Legacy) pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding under the provisions of AR131(a), the careless riding being that near the 1300 metres, he permitted his mount to shift in to the inside of Cambourne when insufficiently clear of Mo'Unga (NZ), thereby tightening that colt in onto National Choice which resulted in Mo'Unga (NZ) having to check and lose its rightful running. Hugh Bowman had his licence to ride in races suspended for a period to commence midnight 17 October 2020 to expire midnight 26 October 2020, a total of 10 race meetings (2 metropolitan, 8 provincial). In assessing penalty Stewards took into account his guilty plea, riding record, that the carelessness was in the mid‑range and it was a Group 1 race.

[Guest CrossCodes]

His ride on the kiwi mare Polly Grey was very ordinary in the Cranbourne Cup today too, got a mile back and roared home for 4th.

Shes going really well over there in some good fields, they just keep riding her so negatively and when they put her in the race soon she’s going to pick up a decent race, she’s no longer just a mudder and deserves a win soon.

[SLB2.0]

Winx made Bowman look good, because his riding post-Winx has been awful.

That is three lengthy suspensions now? One of them should have been 12 months as well.

[Freda]

Shame,  but yes.

However, although these guys and gals are professional athletes and ( should be) accustomed to being in the public arena,  most of we ordinary mortals have little idea what it is like, and the pressures involved,  with such a public lifestyle.