He’s been plagued by injury and suspension so far this season, but Hugh Bowman is determined to look at the positives ahead of another stint on the sidelines.

Bowman’s 2023-24 campaign has been a bumpy one and after picking up a pair of careless riding bans last week, the Australian rider is viewing his upcoming five-meeting suspension as a chance to “reset”.

“I’ve got some time to think about things coming up, so we’ll just concentrate on the week ahead and then have a freshen up,” Bowman said. “I feel like I’ve been swimming against the current with my weight and my fitness since I returned from injury, but I can use this time to reset and get my body right.”

Following a two-meeting suspension and HK$30,000 fine for his ride aboard Lucky Banner at Sha Tin last Wednesday, Bowman was again in the gun on Sunday after his mount, One Heart One, clipped the heels of Charmander and suffered fatal injuries.

To rub salt into his wounds after being speared into the Sha Tin turf, the 43-year-old copped a further three-meeting suspension and HK$60,000 fine.

Bowman had initially challenged the first of his recent careless riding charges but decided to withdraw his appeal and accept the ban, meaning he will be sidelined from February 7 to 22.

“It was my calf [that was injured on Sunday], but it doesn’t hurt riding because there’s no pressure on the muscle,” Bowman said. “It was terribly sore on the weekend when it was wounded, but it’s fine now.

“I’m pleased it’s behind me. I’ve just got to move on from it. Although it all seems a little bit overwhelming at this point, I’ve got some good horses to look forward to on the weekend. We’ll just focus on getting through that and then resetting.”

Bowman made a stellar start to his first full season in Hong Kong before he was hit with two careless riding suspensions – one at Happy Valley and one at Randwick – in October and forced to miss five consecutive meetings.

The superstar rider then fell from Tuchel when making his return to the races on November 11, fracturing his scapula and three vertebrae.

After missing a further 12 meetings through injury, Bowman soon found himself back in the stewards’ room, accepting one-meeting suspensions for careless riding on December 29 and January 7.

“I went back into full books after returning on Boxing Day and I do wonder whether my body was quite ready for the workload. I was probably trying a bit too hard. I haven’t got my weight as stable as I need and as a result, I’ve made a few errors,” he said.

“My injuries were fine, so that wasn’t a concern, but given the fact that we’re in the middle of the winter, it’s a bit harder to get the metabolism going.”

Bowman returns from his next ban for the Group One Gold Cup (2,000m) meeting on February 25, at which point he will have spent more time on the sidelines than he has in the saddle this season – missing 25 of the 48 cards.

Before his suspension, his sights will be set on this Sunday’s Classic Mile aboard exciting youngster Helios Express, who will only face a maximum of eight rivals after trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing confirmed on Tuesday that Chill Chibi won’t line up.

Vincent Ho Chak-yiu is another name that will be absent from the first leg of the four-year-old-series, but after suffering a nasty fall from Romantic Charm last Wednesday, the jockey took to Instagram to post a video of the gym workout he was able to sneak in before undergoing finger surgery on Sunday.

While Ho’s return date is unknown, he will be looking to ensure he is back in time for Golden Sixty’s potential swansong in the Group One Champions Mile on April 28.

On Tuesday, Francis Lui Kin-wai confirmed the superstar galloper is on track for his final start after undergoing scans last week.

“I think some infection inside the tendon, but not serious,” Lui said. “He was trotting in the small ring this morning, and he’s doing OK. The report from the work rider is he’s nearly back to normal, but we don’t want to push him.”

Another galloper nursing an injury is Lucky Sweynesse, who stewards have confirmed pulled up lame in his right front leg following his disappointing Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) defeat.