World Racing Weekly: Memories Of Winx As Bowman Rides Light For Aeliana

Bowman’s Cox Plate Challenge

Hugh Bowman knows all about winning the G1 Cox Plate and about winning it with a classy mare, too. He did, after all, ride the best of them all to win the Moonee Valley feature four times in a row, and on Saturday he will reduce down to his lightest frame to partner Aeliana in the hope that she can emulate the great Winx in at least one-fourth part.  

The Hong Kong-based Australian has never sat on the Chris Waller-trained Aeliana but he has watched her contest Group 1s in seven of her last eight races. Notable among those was her G1 Australian Derby win in April and a smart second first-up, beaten a neck in the G1 Winx Stakes behind star mare and reopposing stablemate Via Sistina.  

She has since placed second to Mr Brightside in the G1 Makybe Diva and fifth behind Sir Delius in the G1 Turnbull. 

“I’ve nothing to do with her physically but I’ve been impressed with her career so far,” Bowman told Idol Horse. “There’s been a lot of merit in her runs this preparation despite not winning and I think she goes into the race with a genuine winning chance.”

Bowman, 45, a four-time champion in Sydney, has been based in Hong Kong for three years and will need to get his weight down to ride the four-year-old filly at 55.5kg (about 122lb). The lowest he has ridden this season is 125lb, at Sha Tin last Sunday. 

“I’m pushing my minimum weight, which is fine,” he said. “But there’s work in that as well. It’s a big job, but that’s what we’re here to do. It’s not so much what is going to happen from here until the day, it’s more the process I’ve been in the last week or so to get there. I’ve been very disciplined.

“I’ve been on a programme since I’ve come back to Hong Kong to get my weight back where I need to be, and maybe this is just the tonic required to push down to that weight. 

“It’s all about discipline: eating clean, exercising and plenty of rest. Rest is very important and people often don’t think about that.”

Aeliana will face last year’s winner Via Sistina and another stablemate Buckaroo, the Group 1-winning filly Treasurethe Moment, as well as Attrition, Nepotism, Antino, Globe and Light Infantry Man. 

“It’s a great feeling to be heading back,” Bowman said. “Going to Moonee Valley – even when I was based in Australia – was quite rare so it’s a great feeling. To be riding for Chris as well, it’s actually quite special. In saying that, there’s a job to do.”

And he is looking forward to hearing the Moonee Valley crowd that gave Winx such rapturous roars.

“Emotionally, it was different every time,” he said of Winx. “In the first one, expectations were not quite what they were for the subsequent wins, and I feel like I’m going into this race with a similar emotional mindset as I did when (Winx) ran in her first Cox Plate in 2015.

“I’m not going to try and compare Winx to anyone, but there is a sense of aura around the whole occasion which is exciting and we’ll use that to our benefit. 

“At the end of the day, though, it’s a horse race and there are worthy competitors. We’ll just try and get there, get an economical run and hopefully Aeliana’s good enough to win for us.

“Lets hope she runs to a level that makes us proud,” he added, “and hopefully that’s good enough to win.”

Lemaire Chasing Take In Open Kikuka Sho

Last week’s G1 Shuka Sho showcased the talents of Japan’s two outstanding champions, the iconic, sports demi-god Yutaka Take and the Japan Racing Association (JRA)’s reigning seven-time leading rider, Christophe Lemaire.

Take used the wisdom and craft of all his 56 years to dictate the pace in that final leg of the fillies’ Triple Tiara on the 15.5 chance Erika Express, and if his filly had settled more mid-race, she might have been better than second. But Lemaire, too, is a master of the jockey’s art, and he was wise to Take’s move, settled Embroidery in a stalk-to-strike position, and unleashed a strong stretch run to win the contest.

This Sunday it’s the JRA’s final classic, the G1 Kikuka Sho, and Lemaire rides a horse vying for favouritism, Energico, while Take is paired with the progressive My Universe, again at likely double-figure odds. 

If the pair do go head-to-head for victory in the final strides, it would get the Kyoto crowd pushing for the upper reaches of the decibel count, for sure. But there’s an added element: Take is the race’s leading rider with five wins going back to 1988; Lemaire is breathing down his neck with four wins, achieved across the last nine editions, and is also on a hat-trick after winning the race in 2023 and 2024. 

But with neither of the season’s Classic-winning colts, Museum Mile or Croix Du Nord in the line-up, this year’s Kikuka Sho is an open race. Eri King has done little wrong for trainer Mitsumasa Nakauchida and another of Japan’s champions, Yuga Kawada, and his narrow win in the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai puts him and the horse he beat, Shohei, right in the mix.

This Week In Horse Racing History

The first match-race between the winners of the Kentucky Derby and the English Derby took place at Belmont Park on October 20, 1923. That year’s English Derby winner Papyrus crossed the Atlantic by ship from his trainer Basil Jarvis’ Green Lodge stables in Newmarket to face-off in the ‘International Special’ against the American hero Zev, trained at the time by David J. Leary. The contest attracted a crowd of 70,000, was broadcast live on the radio and the film was distributed in cinemas/movie theatres. Zev won the race by five lengths on a muddy dirt track.  

It was on October 20 2012 that the great Frankel defeated Cirrus Des Aigles on unfavourably soft going to win the G1 Champion Stakes at Ascot and close out his incredible career unbeaten with 14 wins. 

On October 26 1996, history was made on two fronts at Woodbine racecourse, Toronto, Canada, when the Breeders’ Cup was held outside the United States for the first time and Jenine Sahadi became the first female trainer to saddle a Breeders’ Cup winner. Sehadi’s Lit de Justice won the G1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint .

The Waichiro Tanaka-trained St Lite won the Kikuka Sho on October 26, 1941 to become Japan’s first Triple Crown winner. He was a son of the top-class British two-year-old and 2,000 Guineas winner Diolite.

Idol Horse Reads Of The Week

Adam Pengilly this week broke the exclusive about Group 1-winning rider James Innes Jnr’s 25-year ban following a Racing New South Wales inquiry, after five victims lodged complaints about muliple instances of sexual assault and harassment.

Adam Pengilly

Jockey Handed 25-Year Ban After Sexual Misconduct Findings By Racing NSW

Idol Horse spoke to Joao Moreira in the aftermath of his emotional win in South America’s biggest race, which came after a week of tragedy for his family. 

Tears and Triumph

Joao Moreira’s Emotional Gran Premio Latinoamericano Victory With Obataye

Ka Ying Rising’s victory in The Everest ensured his legend as one of the sport’s great sprinter, and Pengilly, on the scene at Randwick, brings context to what the Hong Kong star’s win really means for racing’s colliding wagering worlds on the global stage.

Lights, Camera, Ka-Ching

Ka Ying Rising’s Win Highlights The Everest’s Cross-Cultural Reach

Former Hong Kong champion trainer David Hill sadly passed away last weekend in Texas after enduring a battle with brain cancer. Hill also trained in Singapore and was a multiple champion in Madras, India, but he will forever be remembered as the man who trained Hong Kong’s first overseas Group 1 raider, the Triple Crown winner River Verdon. He spoke to David Morgan in June 2024 about the horse’s experience competing in the 1992 Arlington Million in Chicago.

Globetrotter

Origin Story: Hong Kong Racing’s First Raider

Racing Photo Of The Week

Date
18 October, 2025

Photographer
@JunKeiba3F

Location
Tokyo Racecourse

More from @JunKeiba3F

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Gaia Force is one of the real characters of Japanese racing and is never one to just cruise around the parade ring quietly and anonymously, but he is also a high-class talent as shown when second to Jantar Mantar in the G1 Yasuda Kinen in June. The grey was up to his tricks before the G2 Fuji Stakes at Tokyo on Saturday, but when it came time to race he was at his best. The six-year-old leapt forward exuberantly from the gate under Takeshi Yokoyama but from then on showed his quality and resilience to hold off Jantar Mantar for his first Graded stakes win in three years.  

Global Blackbook

Mitsumasa Nakauchida’s Ritto string is not short of young talent and the man who oversaw the Triple Tiara-winning career of the late Liberty Island has a juvenile filly of smart potential in Epic Queen. The chestnut is by Epiphanaeia out of Cosmopolitan Queen, who is herself a daughter of the two-time G2 Lancashire Oaks winner Barshiba and a half-sister to the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes heroine Arabian Queen.

Epic Queen is the first horse Nakauchida has trained for the DMM dream Club microshare entity which raced Japan’s first Breeders’ Cup winner, Loves Only You. The youngster stepped out in a Newcomers race at Tokyo last Saturday as the 2.7 favourite under Yuga Kawada. The race was straightforward as Epic Queen broke to the lead, set the tempo, showed signs of immaturity but was asked to quicken 200m out and kept on under hands and heels for a half-length win.

World Horse Racing Calendar: What’s Coming Up

🇦🇺 Cox Plate Day
Moonee Valley, 25 October
G1 Cox Plate (IHFA-rated equal 10th)

Following the withdrawal of G1 Might And Power winner Globe due to lameness the Cox Plate is down to eight runners, the Price and Kent-trained gelding having been pegged by many as the obvious leader in what looms as a highly tactical affair. Last year’s spectacular winner and reigning Australian Horse of the Year Via Sistina looks a shade below her brilliant best this season, while question marks hover around Yulong’s other runner Treasurethe Moment, twice-beaten as a prohibitive favourite since her brilliant first-up win in the G1 CF Orr Stakes after her campaign was modified due to a minor colic setback.

🇯🇵 Kikuka Shō (Japanese St. Leger)
Kyoto, October 26
G1 Kikuka Sho

Japan’s last classic of the season, the G1 Kikuka Sho, looks wide open with Satsuki Sho winner Museum Mile and Tokyo Yushun hero Croix du Nord both absent. Christophe Lemaire partners Energico in his bid for three consecutive Kikuka Sho victories, following wins on Durezza in 2023 and Urban Chic in 2024, while veteran trainer Sakae Kunieda saddles Amakihi in a final bid for a colts’ classic ahead of his mandatory retirement. Eri King, Shohei and Red Bande are among other noteworthy challengers for Kyoto’s 3000m stamina test.

🇦🇺 Victoria Derby Day
Flemington, November 1
G1 Victoria Derby

Victoria Derby Day is named after the 2500m staying test for three-year-olds but the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes – run up Flemington’s ‘straight six’ – has developed into one of Australia’s premier ‘stallion making’ races. Chris Waller has won the race six times and has his impressive G1 Golden Rose winner Beiwacht set for the race. Another colt sporting the Godolphin blue in the Freedman-trained Tentyris will provide the main opposition, after the son of Street Boss unleash a furious late burst to win the Listed Gothic Stakes on Caulfield Cup day. 

🇺🇸 Breeders’ Cup Day
Del Mar, November 2
(IFHA-rated: Breeders’ Cup Classic – equal 5th; Breeders’ Cup Turf – 15th; Breeders’ Cup Mile – 36th)

At Del Mar for the second consecutive year, the second day of America’s championship meeting is just two weeks away and the hype around the showcase Breeders’ Cup Classic is already beginning to build. 

Can Japan’s hero Forever Young conquer his final frontier? The globetrotter will be out to avenge his loss in last year’s Classic and, before that, his heartbreak in the Kentucky Derby. Yoshito Yahagi gave Forever Young his final prep run – and the fans a thrill – at Funabashi three weeks ago. Forever Young will likely face the two horses that finished ahead of him last year – Sierra Leone and Fierceness – as well as the outstanding 2025 Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes winner Sovereignty. 

🇯🇵 Tenno Shō (Autumn)
Tokyo, November 2
(IFHA-ranked 25th)

The Tenno Shō (Autumn) stands as Japan’s premier 2000m test for older horses. The race often features top horses returning from summer campaigns or the Takarazuka Kinen. The race serves as both a domestic middle distance championship decider and a key lead-up to the Japan Cup. Meisho Tabaru, who claimed his first G1 victory in the Takarazuka Kinen, will be challenged by two three-year-olds, Satsuki Sho winner Museum Mile and Tokyo Yushun runner-up Masquerade Ball. It has been announced G2 Mainichi Okan winner Lebensstil will miss the race and head to the Mile Championship.

🇦🇺 Melbourne Cup Day
Flemington, November 4

The withdrawal of ruling favourite Sir Delius after failing the compulsory vet scans has been a major talking point as the field of 24 continues to take shape. Last week Idol Horse broke the news that Damian Lane would partner Chevalier Rose at Flemington, with James McDonald now also confirmed as replacing Andrea Atzeni on the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained Meydaan. Meydaan was among several horses who enhanced their Melbourne Cup credentials with eye-catching Caulfield Cup runs, with Valiant King, Presage Nocturne and winner Half Yours all staking strong claims for Flemington. ∎