12/07/2023  Happy Valley  Race 3

At declaration time, K Teetan was declared as the rider of both RED DESERT and TRUST ME. It was established that K Teetan had a firm commitment to ride. RED DESERT. As such, the Stewards permitted Apprentice Y L Chung to be substituted as the rider of TRUST ME. For this declaration error, Trainer C H Yip was fined $2,000. CHARMING STEED, which was fractious in the barriers, blundered on jumping. JOY COMING shifted in at the start and bumped with TRUST ME. EASY TWO jumped awkwardly. COMPASSION SUPER knuckled on jumping. Approaching the 1000 Metres, CHARMING STEED lay in and away from FLAMING PASSION, resulting in WIND SPEEDER having to be steadied. Passing the 300 Metres, FLAMING PASSION raced in restricted room between LORIZ and RED DESERT which shifted out slightly. FLAMING PASSION then lay in for the remainder of the event. Near the 100 Metres, WIND SPEEDER and MR VALIANT brushed due to both runners shifting ground. Near the 75 Metres, COMPASSION SUPER was eased when crowded between WIND SPEEDER and CHARMING STEED which shifted out and away from JOY COMING. Close to the finishing line, TRUST ME shifted in and bumped INNO TECH WINNER. Also close to the finishing line, LORIZ was steadied to avoid JOY COMING which shifted in and as a result could not be ridden out to the finish. COMPASSION SUPER raced wide and without cover for the majority of the event. After the race, K Teetan (RED DESERT) reported that from a wide barrier he was instructed to take up a forward position. Trainer J Size confirmed the instructions issued. He added that whilst he had instructed at previous race starts for the horse to be ridden conservatively from a wide barrier, RED DESERT had not performed well on those occasions and this was the principal reason that he had instructed K Teetan to take up a forward position tonight. Also after the race, Apprentice Y L Chung (TRUST ME) reported that it was his intention to hold a more forward position tonight, but after being bumped at the start, his mount was then crossed by MR VALIANT in the early stages and as a consequence raced further back than what had been anticipated. Following the race, M Chadwick (FLAMING PASSION) reported that with the fast early pace of the event, his mount did not travel strongly and in the Home Straight was left without a finishing effort. A veterinary inspection of FLAMING PASSION immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of EASY TWO immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. JOY COMING and WIND SPEEDER were sent for sampling.