02/12/2020  Happy Valley  Race 5

SUNNY SMILE began awkwardly, shifted in and bumped GOOD SHOT. SUNNY SMILE then shifted out and made heavy contact with SPRINT FORWARD, causing both horses to become unbalanced and for SPRINT FORWARD to shift out and bump FOCUS which was hampered by MANAGEMENT SUPREME on jumping. SPICY SO GOOD began only fairly. From a wide barrier, SIMPLY FLUKE was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Passing the 1100 Metres, PAKISTAN ZINDABAD was momentarily awkwardly placed inside the heels of SPICY SO GOOD which shifted in marginally. Passing the 800 Metres, PAKISTAN ZINDABAD, which was having its first race start, raced very greenly and shifted out abruptly when awkwardly placed outside the heels of KINDA COOL. SPRINT FORWARD, which was awkwardly placed inside the heels of FOCUS at this time, was steadied away from the heels of PAKISTAN ZINDABAD which lost ground. After this, PAKISTAN ZINDABAD continued to race greenly and shifted ground on a number of occasions. Passing the 700 Metres, SPRINT FORWARD was momentarily eased away from the heels of FOCUS which got its head on the side and shifted in abruptly when racing wide and without cover. Approaching the 400 Metres, GOOD SHOT was awkwardly placed behind KINDA COOL. Passing the 400 Metres, PAKISTAN ZINDABAD, which continued to race greenly, shifted out and bumped FOCUS, causing both horses to become unbalanced. SUNNY SMILE, which was following PAKISTAN ZINDABAD, was checked away from the heels of that horse in consequence, shifted out and was awkwardly placed close to the heels of FOCUS rounding the Home Turn. Near the 250 Metres, SUNNY SMILE was shifted to the outside of SPRINT FORWARD after being disappointed for running inside that horse which shifted in under pressure. K C Leung (GOODLUCK GOODLUCK) pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding [Rule 100(1)] in that passing the 200 Metres he permitted his mount to shift in, resulting in ALLOY KING being unnecessarily crowded for room and losing the running to which it was rightfully entitled. When ALLOY STAR lost ground, SPICY SO GOOD, which was following, shifted out abruptly from behind that horse. K C Leung was suspended from riding in races for a period to commence on Wednesday, 16 December 2020 and to expire on Monday, 21 December 2020 on which day he may resume race riding (2 Hong Kong racedays). In assessing penalty, the Stewards took into account Jockey Leung’s good race riding record. K Teetan (TOP MILITARY) explained that passing the 600 Metres his mount was travelling in comfortable racing room on the rail inside GOOD SHOT. He said making the turn near the 550 Metres TOP MILITARY became badly unbalanced of its own accord and shifted out towards the heels of GOOD SHOT, resulting in the horse losing a considerable amount of ground. He said after this he rode his mount along in an attempt to recover lost ground, however, TOP MILITARY got its head up rounding the Home Turn and in the early part of the Straight and did not feel comfortable in its action. He added because of the manner in which TOP MILITARY felt over the concluding stages, he promptly dismounted from the horse after passing the wining post. A veterinary inspection TOP MILITARY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. Before being allowed to race again, TOP MILITARY will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial around a bend and in amongst horses and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. When TOP MILITARY lost ground, SUNNY SMILE, which was following, was hampered when having to be shifted out abruptly away from the heels of that horse. SIMPLY FLUKE, which was following SUNNY SMILE, was also inconvenienced. When questioned, Apprentice K H Chan stated that he was asked to be positive on SPRINT FORWARD out of the barriers to obtain a forward position but not to ride his mount along to do so. He said it was expected that SPRINT FORWARD would have sufficient early speed to be able to take up a position behind the lead and if SPRINT FORWARD began well, it was acceptable for him to race outside the lead, however, it was felt that there were a number of speed horses engaged in the race and therefore a trailing position would be the most likely outcome. He said on jumping SPRINT FORWARD became unbalanced when bumped by SUNNY SMILE which resulted in it settling further back in the field in the early stages than had been anticipated. He said he was mindful of his instructions not to ride his mount along in the early stages and felt that he would have had to do so for SPRINT FORWARD to be able to take up a more prominent position in advance of runners to his inside. He said because of the circumstances of the race this resulted in SPRINT FORWARD racing much further back in the field than had been intended. A veterinary inspection of SPRINT FORWARD immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. Prior to concluding this matter, the Stewards will interview Mr D A Hayes, the trainer of SPRINT FORWARD, to confirm the instructions he provided to Apprentice Chan prior to the Sha Tin Racemeeting to be conducted on Sunday, 6 December 2020. V Borges stated that he was asked to obtain a midfield position on FOCUS. He said, from a wide barrier, it was felt that too much use of FOCUS would have to be made to obtain a forward position given that there were a number of speed horses engaged in the race which were better drawn than FOCUS and therefore he was asked to obtain a position with cover in about midfield if possible. A veterinary inspection SPICY SO GOOD immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. KINDA COOL and GOOD SHOT were sent for sampling.