Hugh Bowman fails with appeal against ban

Hugh Bowman would not be able to partner Winx if she runs in the Apollo Stakes at Randwick on February 17.

The jockey has been the regular partner of the wondermare but he failed in an appeal to have a careless riding ban reduced at a hearing on Monday.

Bowman told www.racing.com: "I really believed that we had a case to come here with.
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"I wouldn't have just come here in the hope that if I asked politely they'd give me reduction - we really felt we had a case. It was heard fairly so that's all I can ask for.

"It's not the end of the world.

"Being suspended for careless riding is part and parcel of what we do and I think for the sake of safety and fairness of horse racing, it is important that we ride with due care."

After having finished fifth in a second barrier trial on Monday morning, trainer Chris Waller indicated that Winx might not even run in the Apollo Stakes.

He told the Sydney Morning Herald: "He's been such a vital part of her success, as we've seen a number of times.

"It's still two weeks away from her planned first-up run in the Apollo but, if we need to make changes, we'll do that when required to do so.

"Does she need to race in the Apollo? Are there bigger targets? She doesn't have to be racing every week. We've seen before she races well fresh, you can space her races.

"There's lots of options. We don't want to make things too difficult but obviously going to Melbourne for the Futurity is a possibility. It's unlikely but it's a possibility.

"We could even go first-up in a Chipping Norton (Randwick), so there's lots of options there."