27/03/2013  Happy Valley  Race 5

GLORY OF INDIA was withdrawn on 26.3.13 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (inappetance) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter COMPACT YARN (K C Leung). Before being allowed to race again, GLORY OF INDIA will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. DILIGENT III began awkwardly and lost ground. As the start was effected, VICTORY MASCOT put its head down and was slow to begin. From wide barriers, HO HO LIFE and WIN ESPRIT were taken across behind runners shortly after the start. Making the turn near the 600 Metres, DILIGENT III lost ground when crowded for room inside COMPACT YARN which got its head on the side and shifted in despite the efforts of its rider. Rounding the Home Turn, JAMESINA was steadied when awkwardly placed close to the heels of HEI HEI POSH. At the entrance to the Straight, DANZULU was awkwardly placed close to the heels of KHARU. After the 300 Metres, YOUNG HERO was held up for clear running behind KHARU which at this time was giving ground. H W Lai (DILIGENT III) was fined a sum of $2,000 for raising his whip arm above shoulder height. When questioned, G Mossé stated that due to ROYAL KNIGHT being drawn in No. 1 barrier, he was asked to take advantage of the barrier and position the horse, which had the blinkers reapplied tonight, behind the speed. He said after riding his mount along in the initial stages, he then commenced to steady ROYAL KNIGHT after travelling a short distance with a view to allowing COMPACT YARN to cross. He said however that ROYAL KNIGHT proved difficult to settle and when COMPACT YARN was not ridden along to cross ROYAL KNIGHT, this resulted in ROYAL KNIGHT continuing to over-race for some distance. He added he continued to steady the horse passing the winning post on the first occasion in order to provide ROYAL KNIGHT with cover however, it was not until after the 1200 Metres that KHARU improved its position to the outside of ROYAL KNIGHT. He said ROYAL KNIGHT continued to prove difficult to settle and when KHARU did not advance into the lead but rather raced to the outside of ROYAL KNIGHT, ROYAL KNIGHT would not settle as he had hoped it would. He said because of the manner ROYAL KNIGHT raced in the early and the middle stages, the horse was then not able to finish off the race. When questioned, T Clark stated that he had been asked to ride HEI HEI POSH positively in the early stages and obtain a forward position. He said it was anticipated that there would be a lack of speed in the race and that COMPACT YARN or possibly KHARU would lead which would allow HEI HEI POSH to obtain a good position. He said in the early stages, in accordance with his instructions, he rode HEI HEI POSH along and continued to do so for some distance after the start. He said near the 1650 Metres he expected COMPACT YARN to shift across to the rail in front of ROYAL KNIGHT which would allow HEI HEI POSH the opportunity to shift to that horse’s outside after crossing YOUNG HERO which was racing immediately to the inside of HEI HEI POSH. He said however it became apparent to him that ROYAL KNIGHT was maintaining its position to the inside of COMPACT YARN and that that horse would be obliged in the early and middle stages to race in a one-off position. He said he felt that the tempo of the race at this time was good and that he would have had to make considerable use of HEI HEI POSH to cross COMPACT YARN and ROYAL KNIGHT to race on the rail. He said given that he had already made use of HEI HEI POSH in the early stages, he was reluctant to continue riding along, particularly given that the tempo of the race was, in his opinion, quicker than had been expected. He added that when KHARU was able to improve its position to race in the lead, this left HEI HEI POSH in a three wide position and without cover approaching the 1000 Metres. He said given that HEI HEI POSH was obliged to race wide and for the majority of the race without cover, he believed that the horse’s effort was better than it appeared. A veterinary inspection of HEI HEI POSH immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of COOL BEAN, B Prebble stated that his mount travelled satisfactorily in the early and middle stages. He said he shifted his mount out into a three wide position after the 700 Metres to follow HEI HEI POSH in the run and to allow COOL BEAN the opportunity to shift out into clear running at the earliest opportunity. He said he commenced to ride COOL BEAN along approaching the 400 Metres after shifting to the outside of HEI HEI POSH and whilst COOL BEAN improved its position, the horse did not quicken as he expected. He said he placed the horse under pressure in the Straight, however, COOL BEAN finished off the race only fairly and, in his opinion, raced “flat”. He added he had ridden COOL BEAN in some of its track work in the lead up to tonight’s race and based on that work he believed the horse was a strong chance. A veterinary inspection of COOL BEAN immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of KHARU and COMPACT YARN immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. COOL BEAN, DANZULU and VICTORY MASCOT were sent for sampling.