18/03/2009  Happy Valley  Race 5

NOBLE HEART was withdrawn on 17.3.09 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame left fore) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter NEW IDEA (Y T Cheng). Before being allowed to race again, NOBLE HEART will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. As the start was effected, CHATER DE LAGO became fractious, leant against the inside of its stall and as a consequence lost a considerable amount of ground. When the gates opened, SIR LAGO stood flat-footed and lost a considerable amount of ground. NEW IDEA was slow into stride. Near the 1300 Metres, ROCKET AND GOLD and MAGIC TURBO were crowded for room inside FLORAL PICASSO which had been racing wide and without cover and shifted in when being steadied in an endeavour to obtain a position with cover. Near the 1100 Metres, TRAVEL LEADER got its head up when being steadied away from the heels of KAISER’S CHOIX. Making the turn at the 1000 Metres, EVER KING, which for some distance had been proving difficult to settle, got its head up and shifted out when being steadied away from the heels of ROYAL PORTRAIT. Inconvenience was caused to MAGIC TURBO, FLORAL PICASSO and SIR LAGO which were following. Near the 800 Metres, NEW IDEA became unbalanced. Mr P F Yiu, the trainer of FLORAL PICASSO, said from a wide barrier he had instructed H W Lai to take the horse back in the early stages. He said when FLORAL PICASSO was ridden to go forward from a similar draw at its most recent start, it travelled wide and without cover and as a consequence performed disappointedly. He said tonight after being taken back in the early stages FLORAL PICASSO proved difficult to settle and again disappointed with its performance. He said he will now consider removing the blinkers from FLORAL PICASSO in an endeavour to have the horse travel more kindly in its races. When questioned regarding the poor performance of CHATER DE LAGO, B Prebble said after his mount had begun badly, it was then not suited by the manner in which the race was run. He said CHATER DE LAGO travelled at the rear in a slowly run race and it is better suited in a truly run race. He said approaching the turn at the 1000 Metres CHATER DE LAGO became badly unbalanced when awkwardly placed close to the heels of ROCKET AND GOLD. He said making the turn at the 600 Metres he raced tight inside MAGIC TURBO and was not able to shift out to commence making ground. He said CHATER DE LAGO then kept on only one-paced in the Home Straight. CHATER DE LAGO was sent for an official veterinary inspection and sampling. A veterinary inspection of CHATER DE LAGO after the race did not show any significant findings. BULB TREASURE and KAISER’S CHOIX were sent for sampling. After the race, the Veterinary Officer reported that SIR LAGO had sustained a laceration to the left front heel.