He has been hampered by injury and suspension this season, but Hugh Bowman is confident he has the artillery required to kick him back into gear at Sha Tin on Sunday.

After returning from a fractured scapula and three fractured vertebrae on Boxing Day, Bowman has been gradually increasing his number of rides – three on December 26, six on December 29 and eight on New Year’s Day – and heads into the weekend with a full book for the first time since he notched a four-timer on October 15.

He hops aboard unexposed gelding Helios Express in the Class Two Butterfly Handicap (1,600m) and hopes the three-time winner is ready to strengthen his credentials for the first leg of this season’s Classic Series, the Classic Mile, on February 4.

“I’m looking forward to partnering him for the first time this weekend,” said Bowman, who missed Happy Valley’s midweek meeting through suspension. “He’s a horse to look forward to not only this weekend but in the coming months.

“He’s a well-performed horse already and I think he has to be one of the leading contenders heading towards the Classic Mile. I trialled him recently on the dirt and he gave me a very good feel.

“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t put his hand up to say he’s a significant player. We haven’t seen all of the four-year-old horses. There’s a few nice ones waiting in the wings preparing for the next few weeks, so it’s going to be an interesting month.”

Unable to make the 115 pounds allocated to his regular mount Invincible Sage, Bowman will instead reunite with the Danny Shum Chap-shing-trained Victor The Winner in Sunday’s feature, the Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (1,000m).

Bowman steered Victor The Winner to an emphatic four-length success in Class Three company in January last year and will aim to defy the gelding’s 135-pound impost on the back of a gallant fourth in last month’s Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m).

“I’ve won on him before, but this will be the first time I’ve been on him for a while,” Bowman said. “I think it’s a really good race for him. He’s got a bit of a weight disadvantage to the opposition, but I think he’s got a bit of a class advantage.”

Bowman, who sits third in the championship on 23 wins, boasts the highest strike rate in the city this term at 21 per cent, with premiership leader Zac Purton (18 per cent), the in-form Karis Teetan (13 per cent) and Vincent Ho Chak-yiu (13 per cent) all trailing the 43-year-old Australian.