Leading Sydney jockey Hugh Bowman will be the new rider for the flying Redzel when he takes on several The Everest rivals in the Group 2 $200,000 Bowermans Office Furniture Shorts (1100m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Hugh Bowman, above, will ride Redzel in The Shorts at Randwick. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.
Bowman will be in the spotlight again on Saturday when he partners the Queen Of The Turf Winx as she chases her twentieth straight win in the Group 1 $500,000 Colgate Optic White Stakes (George Main Stakes) (1600m).
Bowman will be taking over the reins from Kerrin McEvoy who partnered Redzel to an all the way win in the Group 3 $150,000 Concorde Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on September 2.
McEvoy will be riding at Flemington in Melbourne on Saturday with his main mount for day being Hartnell in the Group 1 $750,000 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m).
Bowman is no stranger to Redzel, having ridden the Snitzel gelding in the early part of his career and claimed a win together the last time they were matched up in the Listed $125,000 Fireball Stakes (1100m) at Randwick during the 2016 Sydney Autumn Carnival.
“I am excited about reuniting with him. It has been a while since I have ridden him in a race and he is a Group 1 winner since I did ride him and he returned in fine form last weekend,” Bowman told Racing HQ.
“He looks well placed in The Shorts, but it is a hard race though.”
Co-trainers Peter and Paul Snowden are hoping for another first class performance from Redzel in The Shorts to help him secure a lot in the $10m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick on October 14.
“And I think he is certainly worthy of a spot (in The Everest). He is probably the most improved sprinter in the country really,” Bowman said.
“He always showed a lot of ability, even in early days when Gerald (Ryan) had him as a young horse.”
“I rode him in his first start when he won at Warwick Farm.”
“He lost his way for a little while but he is certainly reaching his potential now and he certainly wouldn’t be out of place in The Everest.”
“It will be an interesting race on Saturday. It will be a good yard stick for the horses that are resuming because he has already come back and raced well first up and he will have a fitness edge on those others.”
“I expect him to certainly make his presence felt and it will be a good guide as to where the others are at.”
“He is a Group 1 winner now and he franked that form the other day too, and hopefully he can reproduce that first up run on Saturday.”
Redzel gain Group 1 glory with a typical all the way win in the $700,000 James Boag’s Premium Doomben 10000 (1200m) at Doomben during the 22017 Brisbane Winter Carnival.
The opposition in The Shorts will be slightly harder than what he dismissed in the Concorde Stakes with the field likely to include The Everest favourite Chautauqua and Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s Group 1 winning mare English.
Bookies at Ladbrokes.com.au are finding it hard to split Redzel and Chautauqua in early betting for The Shorts and have the two top sprinters sharing favouritism at $3.20 each just ahead of English at $4.40.
Early market order for The Shorts at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.20 Chautauqua, Redzel, $4.40 English, $9 Takedown, $11 Fell Swoop, $16 Ball Of Muscle, $17 Nieta, $31 Eckstein, Japonisme, $61 I Thought So, $101 Palazzo Pubblico, $301 After All That.
