Sunlight Power helps brighten dark and gloomy Sha Tin day as Hugh Bowman bags treble
It felt like the middle of the night at the halfway point of Saturday's meeting but a barnstorming victory from Sunlight Power was enough to brighten things up a touch at Sha Tin.
After a wall of heavy rain and gusty winds put a stop to proceedings for half an hour after five of the 10 races, Sunlight Power thundered to victory in the Class Two Kowloon Tong Club Trophy (1,600m) to continue his impressive season and deliver Hugh Bowman a treble.
With the track downgraded to good-to-yielding, $1.8 favourite Sunlight Power sat just off midfield under Bowman before thundering home down the outside to salute by two and three-quarter lengths from second elect Voyage Samurai.
'It was a pretty solid speed set up front [and] that suited him. Obviously he's performed well on rain-affected ground before and he just got into a beautiful rhythm and his class shone,' said Bowman, who moved to 48 wins for the season thanks to his three-timer.
Class act! Sunlight Power wears down Voyage Samurai in the Kowloon Tong Club Trophy as @HugeBowman makes it a hat-trick at Sha Tin... 🔥#LoveRacing | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/1lNBNqqJqa — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) March 15, 2025
'It's been a good day. I had some nice rides. Take it when you can.'
Sunlight Power's third victory of the campaign will see him rise to a triple-figure rating and trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai may consider running his five-year-old in the Group Two Chairman's Trophy (1,600m) on March 30.
'He got a good gate [one] and a decent tempo and he enjoyed it. The horse doesn't mind the track conditions, which are on the slow side, and it was a very good finish, which surprised me a little bit,' said Yiu.
'As soon as he's under pressure he still wants to lay in but he's making good progress. There's still a bit of improvement in him. He's full of energy and he tries hard.
Crossborderpegasus remains unbeaten! 👌@HugeBowman guides John Size's Rich Enuff speedster to a second straight win at Sha Tin... #LoveRacing | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/LlGmYBUN1p — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) March 15, 2025
'I presume he'll be just above 100 so we can look at a Group [race], but I want to give him a bit of space. He's done well this season so far.'
Bowman's earlier wins came aboard John Size's Crossborderpegasus and the Caspar Fownes-trained Monarch County.
Crossborderpegasus continued his unblemished start to his career, improving his record to two wins from two starts by taking out the Class Four Azalea Handicap (1,200m) as the $1.3 favourite.
'He's an exciting horse, he's got plenty of points in hand. He does have that tendency to lay in, which he needs to overcome as he goes up in the rating points, but we won't be too critical of him at his second run in a race,' Bowman said after the three-year-old did enough to see off Lucky Symphony by half a length after travelling two back on the rail.
Grinding to victory! 💪
Caspar Fownes' Monarch County - a graduate of the Hong Kong International Sale - relishes the challenging conditions at Sha Tin to bring up a @HugeBowman double... #LoveRacing | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/IJWUm9gko1 — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) March 15, 2025
Hong Kong International Sale graduate Monarch Country broke through at start five in the Class Four Hydrangea Handicap (1,400m) – the first race after the weather delay.
Hunted up by Bowman to settle three-wide with cover in midfield from gate 11, Monarch County barrelled home down the middle of the track to see off Pearl Of Pang's by a length and a quarter as a well-backed $4.3 chance.
Bowman's treble saw him move 15 wins clear of jockeys' championship third placed Brenton Avdulla, but he is still a massive 36 victories short of runaway leader Zac Purton, who has now been sidelined by injury for more than a month.
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