01/07/2023  Shatin  Race 3

MAN LIGHT jumped awkwardly and lost ground. SMART FIGHTER jumped only fairly and raced keenly in the early stages. NOBLE ONE also jumped awkwardly, resulting in its rider, A Badel, becoming unbalanced. NOBLE ONE was then shifted across behind runners in the early stages. BEATO was slow to begin and was then shifted across behind runners in the early stages. JAZZ CLUB lost its right hind plate at the start. Shortly after the start, BABY CRYSTAL bumped with SPEEDY SMARTIE. From the outside barrier, COURIER MAGIC was also shifted across behind runners in the early stages. NOBLE ONE was held up for clear running on the Home Turn and near the 350 Metres was directed to the outside of LET’S DO IT to secure clear running and in doing so made contact with DUBLIN STAR. Approaching the 150 Metres, SUPER WINNER endeavoured to obtain a narrow run to the inside of HAPPY TRIO when that runner shifted out slightly. When HAPPY TRIO (L Hewitson) shifted back in after the 150 Metres, SUPER WINNER then became held up for clear running until near the 100 Metres. L Hewitson was advised to exercise more care. In this incident, JAZZ CLUB raced tight to the inside of SUPER WINNER and was momentarily held up on the heels of EIGHT TRIGRAMS. BABY CRYSTAL was obliged to race wide and without cover for the majority of the event. After passing the winning post, MAN LIGHT went amiss, resulting in its rider, M Chadwick, having to dismount. Whilst dismounting, M Chadwick sustained an injury to his back. Subsequently M Chadwick was examined by the Chief Medical Officer who said Jockey Chadwick was unfit and therefore was stood down from his remaining race riding engagements. When questioned regarding his riding making the Home Turn and as to whether there was an opportunity to improve to the inside, K C Leung (SMART FIGHTER) stated that he had observed BABY CRYSTAL travelling well in a three deep position and for this reason he elected to shift out in an attempt to follow that runner. He added as he shifted out, he became awkwardly placed close to the heels of SUPER WINNER before securing clear running in the Home Straight. He said when placed under pressure in the Home Straight, SMART FIGHTER initially responded to his riding, however, its run peaked near the 150 Metres. After the race, BEATO was noted to have blood at the right nostril. An endoscopic examination conducted on BEATO found that there was no blood in its trachea and therefore the horse was deemed not to have bled. A veterinary inspection of SMART FIGHTER immediately following the race which included an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucus in the horse’s trachea. A veterinary inspection of DUBLIN STAR and AMIGOS GIGGLE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. LET’S DO IT and BABY CRYSTAL were sent for sampling. Samples were also taken from MAN LIGHT.