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In a complete turnaround of fortunes at the second leg of the two-day Mauritius International Jockeys’ Weekend that boasted high drama, thrilling finishes and an unfortunate twist – literally - of fate for Australian jockey Hugh Bowman, Team Southern Hemisphere and fellow Australian jockey Noel Callow emerged the acclaimed winners on Sunday, with Bowman finishing runner-up.
Branded as the underdogs following the ride allocation on Wednesday, Team Southern Hemisphere led by captain Johnny Geroudis and the Aussie pair came off a slow start at the first leg on Saturday to end with a late flourish and carry the momentum into Sunday to eventually land the overall group title.
For good measure, Callow added a winning double (Assogia Wood and Acuppa) to clinch the Gold Whip top prize for racking up the most points (33 points) in the individual championship – and land the event a second time after he won in 2007.
“This is my best run ever here. Everything has run so smoothly for my team and myself – I even had luck in the steward’s room!” said Callow who recorded one of his three wins (Assogia Wood) after he fired in a successful protest against Belgian star Christophe Soumillon who was aboard the winner Beach Club for alleged interference.
“My horse got bumped twice by Soumillon’s horse in the home straight. I think he was intimidated a little in the last bit and that cost him the race.
“I won the race in the steward’s room but that is only fair. A win is a win and I’m glad it’s got us another nine points.
“Apparently, we didn’t have the best of luck at the draw on Wednesday, but I was not too bothered by it as I drew pretty ordinary in 2007 and also won it then.”
After beginning Sunday in second spot (on 28 points largely due to Geroudis winning aboard Accelero and Callow scoring late aboard Please To Progress), one point clear of joint-leaders Team Mauritius and Team Rest of the World, Team Southern Hemisphere netted a big haul of five wins which sprang them to the top to secure the title on 85 points, 20 points clear of runner-up Team Mauritius.
But the coveted title also came at a price for top Sydney jockey Bowman who hurt his right foot after one of his Sunday rides, Al’s Deputy (who ran second) took fright at firecrackers lit by overenthusiastic Mauritian fans who were celebrating the win of local boy Nooresh Juglall aboard Besugo at his return to scales.
As Bowman lost his balance, he landed heavily on his foot and was seen hobbling off back to the jockey’s room, but the plucky rider decided to still honour his next ride aboard Azapel, which remarkably duly won. He was however stood down for his remaining two rides and was replaced by Irish jockey Robbie Burke, who as luck had it saluted aboard one of the two rides, Saziwayo, but with happy results as the nine points also played a big part in the Southern Hemisphere’s success.
Bowman had earlier silenced the critics who have raised doubts about his ability when he failed to score a single point on Saturday. But the two-time Sydney champion jockey did not miss his chance to flash his trademark “She’s Apples” winning salute to Mauritians when he steered favourite Ghost Dog to an impressive victory in the opening event.
The hot favourite revelled in the rain-affected track to score going away, giving Bowman plenty of time to stand up in the irons for a high-standing victory salute.
“I didn’t have many good rides on Saturday. Ghost Dog was actually my best chance of the whole weekend,” said Bowman who finished second to Callow on 32 points, which however includes the 10 points chalked up by his replacement Burke on Saziwayo.
“Azapel was probably by next best chance, but I hurt my foot one ride earlier. The horse got spooked by the firecrackers, spun around and caught me off balance.
“I thumped my heels on landing. It hurt when I walked but I was okay once I got into the saddle.
“I thought I’d ice it and it would be okay, but unfortunately it didn’t and I had to give up the last two rides. But it’s all good as I’ve ridden two winners and our team won the overall title.
“Though I hurt my foot, I had a real blast here. The atmosphere is nothing that I’ve ever experienced before, even more so when you win and they cheer you on.”
Bowman was later sent to the hospital for a precautionary X-ray which fortunately revealed just a sprain, but doctors still put him in a cast and advised him plenty of rest, which he is sure to have as he spends the next two days with wife Christine at the Long Beach Hotel before flying (with Callow) back to Australia on Tuesday.
1 Noel Callow (Team Southern Hemisphere) 33 points
2 Hugh Bowman (Team Southern Hemisphere) 32 points3 Nooresh Juglall (Team Mauritius) 31 points
4 Olivier Peslier (Team France) 24 points5 Christophe Soumillon (Team Rest of the World) 23 points
6 Johnny Geroudis (Team Southern Hemisphere) 20 points7 Karis Teetan (Team Mauritius) 18 points
8 Rai Joorawon (Team Mauritius) 16 points9 Maxime Guyon (Team France) 13 points
10 Mickael Barzalona (Team Rest of the World) 9 points11 William Buick (Team Rest of the World) 4 points
12 Stephane Pasquier (Team France) 1 pointFinal Team Standings
1 Southern Hemisphere 85 points
2 Mauritius 65 points3 France 38 points
4 Rest of the World 36 points
