Hugh Bowman ‘lost for words' as Red Lion stuns Voyage Bubble in Champions Mile

South China Morning Post

27-04-2025

Red Lion survived a stewards' inquiry to cause an enormous shock and lower the colours of Voyage Bubble in a dramatic Group One FWD Champions Mile on Sunday.
The $90.8 roughie was allowed to stride into the lead after some contested early fractions, with jockey Hugh Bowman eventually able to control the gallop.
The writing seemed to be on the wall when odds-on favourite Voyage Bubble cruised up to Red Lion at the top of the straight, but John Size's six-year-old knuckled down and refused to be passed.
Voyage Bubble pestered him all the way to the line, but last year's second defied the script and a late – if not slightly ambitious – objection to prevail.
There are not many big races that Bowman has not won, with Sunday's upset completing his Champions Day set, and his raw emotion was there for all to see as he punched the air when the result of the photo finish was confirmed.
RED LION ROARS! 🦁
It's an 89/1 shocker in the FWD Champions Mile at Sha Tin for @HugeBowman and John Size as Red Lion lands his first Group 1 over Voyage Bubble... #FWDChampionsDay | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/BoYbwGqmmt — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) April 27, 2025
'Congratulations to John and the ownership group because he's such a consistent horse and he's a worthy Group One winner, but I'm a bit lost for words to be honest,' Bowman said.
'It's fantastic. He's a very consistent, courageous horse. Having had the opportunity to ride him a few times, I had the confidence in him.
'I didn't really expect to lead but full credit to John and his team because they've turned him out in fantastic order and with a little bit of moisture in the ground, it certainly assisted his chances and I'm just so proud of him.'
To say this was a shock would be an understatement. Red Lion enters the history book as the biggest-priced winner of the race, eclipsing the $65 win odds for Size's Sight Winner back in 2009.
Red Lion was a useful horse in his early days when trained in Ireland by Andrew Slattery, but no one could have foreseen him turning into a bona fide Group One performer.
He was a smart handicapper on those shores but before the Champions Mile, he was zero-from-12 at Group level since joining Size.
Size always had belief in his six-year-old, though even he was hard-pressed to believe he would win at Group One level.
'He's been so consistent over the period he's been racing,' said Size. 'He always does his best and always puts himself in a position to win.
'Today, like all winners, you need plenty in your favour to win a race. Maybe a bit of moisture around helped him and the fact he could lead by himself. All those things contributed to him winning.
'I think the horse's mind for racing and what is going on inside his brain is so important. Today he showed the determination of a real racehorse – he looked like he thought he could win the race and he decided he would.
'He just kept going and kept fighting – under the circumstances, it's very hard to beat a horse in that frame of mind.
'The owners are one of the groups of people in Hong Kong who buy and race lots of horses in this jurisdiction. Anyone who does that deserves some success and they've had a lot of good luck on the racetrack.'
There were no excuses for the $1.6 favourite Voyage Bubble, who had the perfect stalking trip under James McDonald.
'He was super,' said McDonald. 'I was really proud of his effort.'
There was another huge run in behind, with $60 chance Sunlight Power helping trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai fill both placings.
'He ran a great race,' said Christophe Soumillon. 'Unfortunately it was a little too far for him to win it, but he put in a great effort.'