Hugh Bowman is optimistic he can extract the best out of Rousham Park in the Japanese stayer’s clash with Hong Kong champion Romantic Warrior in Sunday’s Group One Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m).
Set for his third crack at a top-level feature at Sha Tin, the Hiroyasu Tanaka-trained Rousham Park boasts a consistent record of six wins and as many placings from 21 starts.
The seven-year-old finished behind Romantic Warrior in his previous two Hong Kong trips, running eighth in the 2023 Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) and fifth in the same race last year, and was a Group One runner-up in the Osaka Hai (2,500m) and Breeders’ Cup Turf (2,400m) in 2024.
Bowman jumped at the chance to ride Rousham Park when Australian expat Adam Harrigan, a consultant and translator for many trainers in Japan, contacted him.
“Adam reached out to see if I had a ride, which I didn’t. I’ve ridden in Japan in the past with success, so there are connections there,” Bowman said.
