09/03/2008  Shatin  Race 5

When being loaded, KEEP SMILING’s left stifle made contact with the barrier gate. Acting on veterinary advice that KEEP SMILING was not suitable to race, the Stewards ordered the withdrawal of the horse. Before being allowed to race again, KEEP SMILING will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. From an outside barrier, PACIFIC ALLIANCE was taken across behind runners in the early stages. PLENTY OF TALENT began awkwardly and shortly after the start was steadied away from the heels of CHARMING MONKEYS which shifted out. DANEPRINT began awkwardly. Shortly after the start, HELLO GIBRALTAR was checked when crowded for room between SHOW BRAVELY and SERIOUS PLAY, both of which shifted ground. No action was taken. In the early stages, FAST WINNER proved difficult to settle and got its head up on a number of occasions. VITALITY CHAMP, which was racing wide and without cover, was allowed to stride forward passing the 1000 Metres into a position outside the lead. Approaching the 800 Metres, CAPTAIN BUNNY shifted out when awkwardly placed close to the heels of SPICY HOT. After this, CAPTAIN BUNNY raced wide and without cover and hung in under pressure over the concluding stages. In the early part of the Straight, SUPER was allowed to shift to the outside fence. Apprentice C W Wong (DANEPRINT) was severely reprimanded for permitting his mount to shift in inside the final 100 Metres when insufficiently clear of PACIFIC ALLIANCE, resulting in that horse being checked. M W Leung (CHARMING MONKEYS) reported when his mount commenced to hang out making the first turn, his saddle shifted to the right side, placing him at a disadvantage for the remainder of the race. CHARMING MONKEYS continued to hang out rounding the turns. When questioned regarding the improved performance of DANEPRINT, Trainer C H Yip said at its most recent start at Happy Valley the horse was used up to obtain a forward position in what was a fast run race in the early stages. He said the horse was able to take a trailing position after passing the winning post on the first occasion, however, was disappointing in the manner in which it weakened out of the race from the 600 Metres. He said as instanced in the incidents report the horse was found to have a substantial amount of mucopus in its trachea following the race. He said following the poor performance of DANEPRINT, he altered the horse’s training programme by freshening the horse up prior to barrier trialing the horse at Sha Tin on 15 February 2008 and treated the horse for the problems associated with the finding of mucopus. He said DANEPRINT was successful in the barrier trial and he was satisfied with the manner in which the horse had performed. He added despite the horse winning the barrier trial, he did not anticipate the horse would win in today’s race. Mr Yip was advised of the importance of having horses race consistently. PACIFIC ALLIANCE and FAST WINNER were sent for an official veterinary inspection. A veterinary inspection of PACIFIC ALLIANCE and FAST WINNER after the race did not show any significant findings. CAPTAIN BUNNY, DANEPRINT and SUPER were sent for sampling.