Hugh Bowman’s winning ride on Furore in the Hong Kong Classic Mile at Sha Tin has cost him a suspension which keeps him out of Expressway Stakes day.
Formerly trained in Australia by Kris Lees, Furore claimed his first Hong Kong win at his third start for Frankie Lor in Sunday’s 1600m-race.
The gelding was midfield but when Bowman shifted him out at the 300m, Gold Win was shunted sideways and caused a domino effect which earned Bowman a three-meeting ban.
But Furore was impressive with Bowman saying he had the potential to continue to the Derby.
“It felt every bit as good as it would have looked,” Bowman told the HK Jockey Club.
“I’m delighted with him. This is not his trip. After performing like that over this distance today, that’s very exciting for the rest of his Derby preparation.”
Lor, a former assistant to champion trainer John Size, had five runners in the race.
“I thought Dark Dream was my best chance but the only thing was the bad draw in 12,” he said.
“You can see in the race he was wide and then he got bumped.”
Dark Dream, the 2018 Queensland Derby winner, finished fourth.
“Furore’s form has improved each race,” Lor said.
“I thought he’d run well but winning is a little bit of a surprise because I thought Dark Dream was a little bit better. Sometimes it’s like this!”
Although he misses Saturday’s meeting at Rosehill, Bowman’s suspension ends in time for him to return for the rich Inglis Millennium meeting at Warwick Farm on February 9.
