Hugh Bowman is confident Helios Express is every bit the horse he was when placing behind Ka Ying Rising seven times last season after putting the sprinter through his paces in a trial at Sha Tin on Friday morning.

Helios Express travelled nicely behind the speed over 1,200m on the all-weather track before picking up nicely when asked by Bowman and crossing the line in third.

“He feels as good [as last season]. He’s had a nice puff this morning. A bit like Red Lion, he probably needs to go to the races to get stimulated,” said Bowman.

“You’ve got to take that on trust and I’m confident we’ll get the response we want when it’s time to ask the question.

“He trialled well this morning. He had a pretty quiet trial a couple of weeks ago and it’s a bit inconclusive because he doesn’t particularly like the dirt track, which he’s shown in the past.

“But I was a bit more assertive with him today just to ensure he was up to the mark and the response was there.

“We weren’t trying to do too much, but we wanted to make sure he did his exercise and that he did.”

Bowman expects the John Size-trained Helios Express to have one more trial before stepping out in the Group Two Premier Bowl (1,200m) on October 26.

Victorious in May’s Group Three Sha Tin Vase (1,200m) in the absence of Ka Ying Rising, Helios Express will get his chance to land more feature success while the world’s best sprinter chases The Everest (1,200m) riches in Australia.

Second behind Zac Purton in the jockeys’ premiership with six wins, Bowman heads to Sha Tin on Saturday with just four rides, however he’s confident he’ll be dealing in “quality not quantity”.

“It’s a quiet day tomorrow – I’ve been a bit slow with my quantity of rides at the start of the season. I suppose my weight has affected that a bit but I think over the coming weeks I’m going to get more rides,” said Bowman, who confirmed he was unwell when failing to make the 126lb weight on two rides last weekend.

“I was not well. I don’t know what I had but I wasn’t right. I had another pound and a half to go to make the weight and, quite frankly, I thought ‘if I do it I might not get through the day’. If you’re not well, you’re not well.”

The stewards relieved Bowman of HK$5,000 for missing the rides on Mr Desira, who finished second, and Smashing Express, and he will be looking to make that back with interest when he partners Chill Chibi, Chateauneuf, Cambridge and Draco this weekend.

Chill Chibi steps out in the day’s feature, the Class Two High West Handicap (1,650m) on dirt, and Bowman is looking forward to seeing what Danny Shum Chap-shing’s charge has to offer.

After bagging consecutive Class Two victories at Happy Valley late last year, Chill Chibi hasn’t been seen since suffering ligament injuries in December and March and lameness in August.

The six-year-old will race on the dirt for the second time after a nice showing in a 1,700m Happy Valley trial last weekend.

“He’s got to start somewhere and he trialled well beside Romantic Warrior the other day,” said Bowman of Chill Chibi, who must overcome barrier 10.