Forty minutes after Hugh Bowman joins forces with Peter Snowden’s Golden Slipper prospect Paceman on Saturday, jockey and trainer will be in opposition corners with two of the country’s best colts.
Bowman will test Paceman as a Golden Slipper mount when he resumes in the Silver Slipper at Rosehill.
A race later the top jockey will be aboard the Bart and James Cummings-trained Hallowed Crown, one of the horses expected to provide the strongest challenge to Snowden’s Hobartville Stakes favourite Shooting To Win.
Hallowed Crown defeated Shooting To Win at their only meeting in the Golden Rose, run over the Hobartville course and distance.
It is that result Bowman is relying upon ahead of Saturday’s clash.
An underwhelming trackworker, Hallowed Crown has made it difficult for Bowman to know what to expect first-up.
“Shooting To Win, I haven’t ridden him but I’ve worked with him a few times,” Bowman said.
“He looks like a machine and he works like one.
“Hallowed Crown is hard to get a guide on because he just does what he has to, but I’ve been very impressed with his progress through the preparation so far.
“The horse looks amazing and his action is excellent but until you put him under that race day pressure, it’s hard to know where he’s at.”
The jockey is also on a discovery mission with Paceman.
After an injury to stablemate Outreach, Bowman is hoping Paceman can stamp himself as a Golden Slipper horse.
“He’s a real sprinting type, a very fast horse. He’s very natural and very competitive so he ticks all the boxes you want leading into these major races,” Bowman said.
“There will be nowhere to hide on Saturday, it’s a very good race.”
