03/06/2015  Happy Valley  Race 2

CHINA DELIGHT began only fairly. CIRCUIT STAR was crowded for room on jumping between SOUTHERN SPRINGS and MAC ROW which was taken out by AMAZING ALWAYS. From a wide barrier, LIGHTNING AND GOLD was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Approaching the 1200 Metres, CONFUCIUS SPIRIT was awkwardly placed close to the heels of RED COURAGE. After the 1000 Metres, ROBUST MOMENTUM was awkwardly placed close to the heels of SPIRIT SOARING. Near the 900 Metres, AXIOM raced in restricted room between MAC ROW and LIGHTNING AND GOLD which shifted out away from the heels of CIRCUIT STAR which got its head up when being steadied away from the heels of DRAGON GLORY. Near the 450 Metres, ROBUST MOMENTUM and RED COURAGE raced tight as ROBUST MOMENTUM shifted to the outside of SPIRIT SOARING. CONFUCIUS SPIRIT, which was following RED COURAGE, was steadied away from the heels of that horse in consequence approaching the 400 Metres. Shortly after the 300 Metres, DRAGON GLORY was shifted in away from the heels of SPIRIT SOARING to obtain clear running. Approaching the 200 Metres, LIGHTNING AND GOLD was shifted out away from the heels of CIRCUIT STAR to continue improving. Over the concluding stages, LIGHTNING AND GOLD raced with its head on the side and was inclined to lay in. When questioned, H W Lai stated that he rode SOUTHERN SPRINGS aggressively until passing the winning post on the first occasion in an endeavour to obtain a forward position and then passing the 1200 Metres was left racing in a three wide position. He said because of the work that he had done earlier on SOUTHERN SPRINGS, he did not feel it was in the best interests of the horse to continue to press forward in an attempt to obtain a position closer to the rail. He added that after the 1200 Metres he again commenced to ride his mount along, however, it was apparent that SOUTHERN SPRINGS did not have sufficient pace to cross RED COURAGE. A veterinary inspection of MAC ROW, SPIRIT SOARING and CONFUCIUS SPIRIT immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. ROBUST MOMENTUM and AXIOM were sent for sampling.