Bowman tipped the injured Denita and the couple's oldest child, Charlie, who was celebrating his fourth birthday, watched on TV and cheered as Nashville Sound saluted at the TAB Warrnambool May Racing Carnival.

Nashville Sound, with jockey Declan Bates in the saddle, was too strong in a benchmark 78 over 2350 metres.

Bowman's daughter Annie, who turns two next month, was trackside to see her dad's success.

He said Denita was recovering at home after an incident earlier in the day.

"She was strapping one earlier and it (a horse) knocked her over," Bowman said.

"She's all right, she just took Charlie home to have a rest.

"She would've been roaring (at the TV) I'm tipping."

Bowman said Charlie enjoyed spending time at the track too.

"He loves it, he'd be dirty he couldn't be here but he was just a bit tired," he said.

"The birthday has got the best of him."

MORE RACING:

Nashville Sound scored a one-length win over the Michael Moroney-trained Mirimar with Beach God, trained by Byron Cozamanis, a further 2.5 lengths back.

Bowman said he was pleased to break his May carnival drought "especially when you target a race so far out".

"We just haven't had the right horses, so when this bloke came along we were more than happy to bring him here," he said.

"We've given him every chance to develop and mature and hopefully he's back at the Warrnambool Cup next year.

"We'll have a look at the weather and keep trying to keep him on soft ground.

"We may get to town at some stage, it depends - it's hard to get a wet track at Flemington or Caulfield these days."

Bowman praised Bates' patient ride on Nashville Sound.

"It was a great ride, he didn't panic," he said.

"They whipped around him early and got going and he got pocketed but he just rode him like the best horse in the race," he said.

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.