15/11/2023  Happy Valley  Race 2

HARMONY N BLESSED (E061): Over the concluding stages lay in towards SUPER COMMANDER, resulting in its rider, Apprentice Y L Chung, having to stop riding and straighten his mount for a short distance. When questioned regarding his riding of HARMONY N BLESSED, Apprentice Y L Chung stated that he was instructed, with SUPER COMMANDER and FORTUNE WARRIOR being speed horses, to endeavour to take a seat behind those two horses in the early stages. He said from a wide barrier he rode HARMONY N BLESSED along whereby it then commenced to race keenly and approaching the 850 Metres he endeavoured to comply with his instructions, but was unable to do so due to his mount continuing to race too keenly. Trainer D A Hayes confirmed the instructions were to take cover with noted speed runners in the event. Apprentice Chung was advised that he had made an error of judgement in the early stages in riding his mount with too much vigour for too long which resulted in HARMONY N BLESSED not being ridden in accordance with the instructions that he was issued. A veterinary inspection immediately following the race which included an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse’s trachea. Before being allowed to race again, HARMONY N BLESSED will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. EXPLOSIVE WITNESS (B001): No report. RUN RUN COOL (E322): Slow to begin. HUMBLE STAR (H125): Sent for sampling post-race. KYRUS DRAGON (H396): Near the 200 Metres was bumped by RUN RUN COOL which shifted in. When questioned regarding his riding in the early stages and the reason he rode KYRUS DRAGON in a conservative manner through that section of the race, B Avdulla stated that at its previous race start on 29 October 2023 over 1200 Metres, KYRUS DRAGON raced too keenly and as a result found it difficult to finish the race off. He said from the inside barrier this evening he was asked not to place KYRUS DRAGON under pressure in the early stages to allow it to settle as KYRUS DRAGON was being dropped back to 1000 Metres where a strong pace was expected. He added in accordance with his instructions he allowed KYRUS DRAGON to settle towards the back of the field, but it finished the race off only fairly. Trainer D J Hall confirmed the instructions issued and stated that KYRUS DRAGON had raced keenly at its last race start and this was the reason why the horse was dropping back to a 1000 Metre race tonight. He added that he would continue to issue similar instructions to riders of the horse in future to ensure that KYRUS DRAGON settles in its future race starts. ATOMIC ENERGY (H150): Sent for sampling post-race. FORTUNE WARRIOR (H229): When questioned regarding the tactics adopted on FORTUNE WARRIOR, K Teetan advised that from the outside barrier he was instructed to take up a position outside the anticipated leader SUPER COMMANDER. He said in the early stages he rode his mount along to comply with his instructions, but when HARMONY N BLESSED held its position to his inside, he continued to make use of FORTUNE WARRIOR in an endeavour to cross that runner. He added approaching the 700 Metres when it became apparent his mount would be caught wide, he then elected to obtain cover behind HARMONY N BLESSED and soon after shifted to the rail. When questioned if there was an opportunity to restrain his mount sooner than what he did, K Teetan agreed with the Stewards that in retrospect he had persisted for too long in an endeavour to cross HARMONY N BLESSED. Trainer P C Ng confirmed the instructions issued to Jockey Teetan and said that such instructions issued were consistent with the horse’s previous race starts. The Stewards advised Jockey Teetan that his actions through that section of the race constituted an error of judgement and that in similar circumstances he would be expected to show better judgement than he did on this occasion. A veterinary inspection immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. SUPER COMMANDER (D350): Near the 200 Metres, A Hamelin dropped his whip. Trainer P C Ng confirmed that the instructions issued to A Hamelin were to hold the lead which was consistent with its previous racing pattern.