KING THE ONLY OFFICIAL AUSSIE REPRESENTATIVE IN THE IJC, BUT SEVERAL OTHERS BRING AN AUSSIE FLAVOUR

By Graham Potter | Thursday, November 21, 2024

Hugh Bowman’s talent has always found a way to put him in the pound seats and it has again come through when it mattered most to ensure him a slot in the lucrative and prestigious Longines International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) which will take place with justified celebrated fanfare in the entrancingly unique setting that is the Happy Valley Racetrack on Wednesday, December 4.

Interestingly enough, both Bowman and Zac Purton will be representing Hong Kong at the Championship, taking up two of the four berths allocated to riders from Hong Kong. Purton has represented Hong Kong on several occasions before. This will be Bowman’s first Championship riding under the Hong Kong banner.

Purton, who is a seven-time Hong Kong Jockey Premiership winner, has won the IJC on three previous occasions while Bowman also has his name on that winner’s list, having won the title in 2016.

With James McDonald representing New Zealand, Australia only has one official representative in the twelve-strong jockey line-up, that being the highly capable Rachel King, who finished third in her IJC debut last year.

Purton, Bowman, McDonald and King will be joined by the other two riders representing Hong Kong (Karis Teetan and Vincent Ho) and riders representing Great Britain (William Buick, Holly Doyle and Ryan Moore), France (Mickael Barzalona), Ireland (Colin Keane), Japan (Yuga Kawada).

The Longines International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) is a four-race series on the night, where jockeys receive 12 points for a win, six points for second and four points for third across the four allocated races.

The series boasts total prize-money of HK$1 million. The winner receives HK$600,000, while second and third collect HK$250,000 and HK$150,000, respectively.

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