01/10/2012  Shatin  Race 3

ABLE SPEED began awkwardly. Near the 800 Metres, FLYING COLOURS was steadied away from the heels of HORSE GALORE which was taken in by BLAZE KING. At the 400 Metres, VITAL FLYER became unbalanced in its action. As this was the second consecutive occasion on which VITAL FLYER had become unbalanced in addition to the horse performing similarly in an official barrier trial conducted at Sha Tin on 28 August 2012 and having in mind that all three incidents had occurred at approximately the same position on the track, the Stewards brought this matter to the attention of Trainer C W Chang and advised him that they will continue to monitor the horse’s future starts. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of BLAZE KING, M Chadwick stated that the horse got its head on the side and lay in which it had done in some of its previous starts. He said despite this, BLAZE KING travelled satisfactorily in the early stages, however, came under pressure after the 500 Metres to hold its position. He said after the 400 Metres he commenced to ride the horse along vigorously, however, BLAZE KING did not respond to his riding and was disappointing in the manner in which it weakened over the remainder of the race. He added that he had ridden the horse in two official barrier trials in the lead up to today’s race and, in his opinion, these trials had been good. Trainer A S Cruz stated that although BLAZE KING had a minor setback which resulted in it missing one day’s work on 24 September 2012, it was able to swim on that day and subsequently galloped strongly on 28 September 2012. He added that BLAZE KING’s action had been fluent in the lead up to today’s race and he was satisfied that it would be a strong chance in the race. He said he was not able to offer any explanation for the disappointing performance of the horse but would monitor its progress in the coming days. A veterinary inspection of BLAZE KING after the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of BLAZE KING was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, BLAZE KING will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in an official barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. BLAZE KING, VITAL FLYER and CAPTAIN SWEET were sent for sampling.