World Champion jockey Hugh Bowman has donated his breeches worn on champion mare Winx, when they combined for their historic third Cox Plate victory, to the National Jockeys Trust.
Bowman
gifted his 2017 Cox Plate winning breeches to the National Jockeys Trust on
Saturday. The breeches have been signed by Bowman and authenticated by the
Australian Jockeys Association.
The unique memorabilia will be auctioned at the Call of the Card on Cup Eve, Monday 6 November 2017 at Palladium at Crown, hosted by Jason Richardson and Hamish McLachlan.
100% of the proceeds from this item will be donated to the National Jockeys Trust.
"Hugh Bowman is a true champion both in the saddle and in his support of the National Jockeys Trust. These signed breeches are now an incredible piece of Australian racing history. I would like to formally acknowledge Crown Resorts and Call of the Card organisers for the opportunity to maximize their value at their event" said Des O'Keeffe, Chairman, Australian Jockeys Association.
"The Call of the Card is one of the most prestigious and sought after ticketed events held over the Melbourne Cup Carnival. At Crown we are extremely proud to host this event and in particular of showing our ongoing support of the National Jockeys Trust" said Ann Peacock, General Manager of Community & Charity, Crown Resorts
Bowman and Winx continue to create history together. By winning the 2017 Cox Plate, they equaled the champion Kingston Town's record of being the only horses to win three Cox Plates. Winx and Bowman are the only horse and jockey combination to complete the feat.
Winx continues to break records each time she sets foot a racetrack, she will go down in history as one of our all-time greatest thoroughbred racehorses. Winx broke her own track record in her third Cox Plate, she won by the greatest margin in 2016 winning by 8 lengths. Winx holds the Australasian prizemoney record of $15,627,925 from 22 races in succession, 26 wins during her career with 15 Group 1s to her name.
Bowman has combined with Winx for 21 of her 26 victories, they will be remembered as one of the greatest combinations in racing history. He is currently leading the 2017 Longines IFHA World Best Jockey rankings, and has won 72 Group 1 wins and four Sydney Metropolitan Jockeys Premierships during an illustrious career.
Bowman will participate in the live auction and the winning bidder (if in attendance at the Call of the Card) will be invited to have their photograph with the jockey and the signed breeches.
The breeches will be custom framed, with the winning bidder contributing to and approving the final design prior to framing.
The auction will be live at the Call of the Card, however, interested parties can register for phone bidding.
To register for phone bidding, please contact Tanya Fullarton at the National Jockeys Trust on 0417 193 071. Phone Bidding registration closes at 11am AEDT Monday 6 November 2017.
The National Jockeys Trust (NJT) provides support for former and current jockeys, and theirfamilies who are in necessitous circumstances as a result ofserious injury, illness or death of a jockey. NJT has provided over 300 jockeys with $3 million in support. Each year 40% of jockeys have a fall that prevent them from riding for an average of 5 weeks, with 5% of these falls deemed career ending. In excess of 880 Australian jockeys have been killed as a result of race falls.
The Call of the Card is held each year in the Palladium at Crown on Melbourne Cup Eve. The event includes live entertainment, a three-course lunch and the official "Call of the Card" where Melbourne's biggest betting bookmakers take the first official bets for the race that stops a nation. You can purchase tickets to the event by visiting Ticketmaster.
