05/01/2014  Shatin  Race 1

MEGA was slow to begin. Passing the 250 Metres, KING OF THE DAY became unbalanced when it shifted out away from BOLD TACK which also shifted out marginally. HIGHLAND DRAGON, which was racing to the outside of KING OF THE DAY, shifted out away from that horse after initially being taken out slightly, resulting in MEGA becoming unbalanced when being crowded for room outside HIGHLAND DRAGON. A short distance later, MEGA was checked when unable to maintain its position to the outside of HIGHLAND DRAGON which raced tight outside KING OF THE DAY (H W Lai) which shifted out marginally when being ridden along. H W Lai was reprimanded and advised that whilst there were some circumstances to this incident, nonetheless he must make every endeavour to prevent his mounts from shifting ground. Approaching the 100 Metres, VAJRA THRONE was shifted in away from the heels of KING OF THE DAY which was giving ground. When questioned, N Callan (HAPPY GOAL) stated that after beginning well, HAPPY GOAL did not show the same early speed that it had shown at its most recent start at Happy Valley when successful. He said he was obliged to ride HAPPY GOAL along shortly after the start in an attempt to obtain a forward position, however, despite being vigorously ridden along, HAPPY GOAL did not muster speed. He said he continued to ride HAPPY GOAL along and, considering the manner in which it was travelling in the early and middle stages, the horse, in his opinion, finished off the race quite well over the concluding stages. He added he had ridden HAPPY GOAL in a piece of work on the 1800 Metre gallop in the lead up to today’s race and, in his opinion, that work was very good and based on the quality of this work, he considered HAPPY GOAL to be a strong chance in today’s race. He said the only possible reason he could offer in respect of the horse’s lack of the early speed was the fact that it was returning to Sha Tin after racing at Happy Valley at its most recent start. Trainer L Ho confirmed that N Callan had ridden HAPPY GOAL in a piece of work on Thursday, 2 January 2014 and based on the strength of this work, in his opinion, HAPPY GOAL had improved since its last start success. He said he was surprised by the horse’s lack of early pace today as he instructed N Callan to have it race near the lead which he expected it to be able to achieve, particularly given its most recent start when the horse was able to obtain a forward position. He added prior to its last start he had advised the owners that, in his opinion, the horse was a place chance and its win when supported in the market was somewhat surprising and that the market support was not stable inspired. He said he advised the connections prior to today’s race that based on the horse’s work, he expected it to be a winning chance. After the race, the Veterinary Officer reported that TEAM WORK had bled from both nostrils. BOLD TACK and SPICY SHRIMP were sent for sampling.