11/07/2010  Shatin  Race 7

At declaration time, B Prebble was declared as the rider of both ROYAL PUMPKIN and MY TIME. It was established that B Prebble had a firm commitment to ride MY TIME. As such, the Stewards permitted Apprentice C Y Ho to be substituted as the rider of ROYAL PUMPKIN. For this declaration error, B Prebble was fined $2,000. AMAZING SKY was difficult to load. Before being allowed to race again, AMAZING SKY will be required to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test. Shortly after the start, ALL TIME HIGH, which had been slow to begin, and GREEN CASH were crowded for room between MASCOT FORTUNE and AMAZING SKY, both of which shifted ground. Also shortly after the start, HORSESHOE FORTUNE and LEGEND EXPRESS were steadied when crowded for room between AMBITIOUS OWNER which was taken out slightly by MY TIME and EIGHT PLUS NINE (Z Purton) which shifted in when not properly clear. Z Purton was severely reprimanded and advised to ensure that he is sufficiently clear when shifting ground in future. Passing the 600 Metres, ROYAL PUMPKIN was steadied and lost ground when racing in restricted room between FAT CHOY OOHLALA and HORSESHOE FORTUNE which got its head on the side and shifted out. ROYAL PUMPKIN had difficulty obtaining clear running in the early part of the Straight. Passing the 150 Metres and again near the 50 Metres, AMBITIOUS OWNER shifted in and brushed EIGHT PLUS NINE. Inside the final 50 Metres, ROYAL PUMPKIN, which was closing off the race strongly, shifted in to continue improving its position and in doing so bumped KING OF SCOTS. Throughout the race, KING OF SCOTS travelled wide and without cover. Apprentice M L Yeung (AMBITIOUS OWNER) reported that his saddle shifted back in the early part of the Straight which caused him some inconvenience when riding the horse out for the remainder of the race. When questioned, B Prebble stated that it had been intended for MY TIME to be ridden in a forward position even though it was stepping up in distance and was racing at Sha Tin. He said MY TIME began well, however, shortly after the start the horse got its head on the side and shifted out. He said he observed a number of horses being aggressively ridden from wider barriers, therefore he elected, approaching the 1200 Metres, to allow MASCOT FORTUNE to cross MY TIME and obtain cover behind that horse. He said when he did this, MASCOT FORTUNE was steadied to allow ALL TIME HIGH to cross to the lead and this resulted in MY TIME racing further back than had been intended. He said rounding the Home Turn MY TIME again got its head on the side and hung out which indicated to him that it was not comfortable on today’s racing surface. A veterinary inspection of MY TIME after the race did not show any significant findings. ROYAL PUMPKIN, LEGEND EXPRESS, FAT CHOY OOHLALA and EIGHT PLUS NINE were sent for sampling.