12/09/2007  Happy Valley  Race 7

Near the 1000 Metres, AWARD and AMSTERDAM were crowded for room inside EVERGREEN which at this time got its head on the side and hung in. In the middle stages, MULTI MILLIONS was left racing without cover. Prior to straightening, BEST POWER was steadied away from the heels of AWARD when endeavouring to shift to the outside of that horse into clear running. When BEST POWER shifted out, SUPER WONGCHOY was carried wider. Over the concluding stages, LIAOBUQI was steadied away from the heels of MIRACULOUS which was giving ground. In the Straight, CONNOISSEUR'S LOVE hung in. C K Tong (LIAOBUQI) said the intention had been to lead on the horse if possible. He said despite being ridden along in the early stages, LIAOBUQI was not able to obtain the lead and as a consequence travelled further back than intended. He said LIAOBUQI did not appreciate racing inside other runners and in his opinion because of this was disappointing. B Prebble (AWARD) was unable to offer an explanation for the poor performance of the horse. He said AWARD travelled in a rearward position as usual, however, did not at any stage of the race travel comfortably. He said when placed under pressure after the 400 Metres AWARD failed to respond to his riding. He did say AWARD was today having its first start in blinkers, however, he was not able to say this accounted for the horse's poor performance. LIAOBUQI, AWARD and MIRACULOUS were sent for an official veterinary inspection. A veterinary inspection of LIAOBUQI and AWARD after the race did not show any significant findings. After the race, MIRACULOUS was examined by the Veterinary Officer. He said the horse was making an abnormal breathing noise and an endoscopic examination showed it to be an early "roarer". KOWLOON FIT, ELFHELM and EVERGREEN were sent for sampling.