01/10/2009  Shatin  Race 5

At declaration time, Apprentice K C Leung was declared as the rider of both OCTAGONAL CANYON and ACCELERATOR. It was established that Apprentice Leung had a firm commitment to ride OCTAGONAL CANYON. As such, the Stewards permitted W M Lai to be substituted as the rider of ACCELERATOR. For this declaration error, Apprentice Leung was fined $2,000. CLOVIS began awkwardly and as a consequence lost ground. FUN RIDER began awkwardly. Approaching the 1300 Metres, when being shifted across behind SPARKLING, PRECISION MAGIC (Apprentice M L Yeung) clipped the heels of that horse and blundered. The Stewards noted that this was the second occasion this season that a horse ridden by Apprentice Yeung has struck the heels of the runner in front. Apprentice Yeung was again advised to ensure he leaves sufficient room between his mount and the heels of runners in front. Passing the 1300 Metres, FUN RIDER was awkwardly placed inside PRECISION MAGIC. Making the first turn, FUN RIDER was steadied when crowded for room inside PRECISION MAGIC which shifted in slightly. Near the 700 Metres, PRECISION MAGIC shifted out when being checked away from the heels of LEO’S PRIDE. ACCELERATOR, which was following PRECISION MAGIC, was taken wider as a consequence. For some distance approaching and passing the 700 Metres, EAST RIDER raced tight inside CONQUEROR (S K Sit) which improved to be racing inside of COSMO SUCCESSOR where there was doubtful room. In order to alleviate the tightening to EAST RIDER, B Prebble, the rider of COSMO SUCCESSOR, shifted his mount out. S K Sit was reprimanded and advised to ensure he has sufficient room when improving between runners in the future. Passing the 400 Metres, COSMO SUCCESSOR, which was commencing to give ground, was steadied away from the heels of CONQUEROR which shifted out. When questioned, J Lloyd (HIGH INTELLIGENT) stated that he was instructed to go forward on the horse and it was anticipated that he would be able to race outside DOUBLE DRAGON which he expected would hold the fence in the lead. He said in the early stages he niggled his mount along to go forward, however, COSMO SUCCESSOR maintained its position inside HIGH INTELLIGENT. He said although COSMO SUCCESSOR was not being ridden along to maintain its position, he felt that had he used up HIGH INTELLIGENT to go forward of COSMO SUCCESSOR, that horse would have maintained its position which would have required him to race three wide outside the lead in the early stages, therefore he elected to come back and obtained a position with cover rather than being caught wide. The Stewards questioned S K Sit, the rider of CONQUEROR, and Mr Y O Wong, the trainer of the horse, regarding the manner in which CONQUEROR was ridden and the apparent improvement in performance today as compared to its last start on 26 September 2009 when the horse finished 11th. S K Sit stated that at its most recent start, as instanced in the Stewards’ report, the horse did not travel at any stage and it was for this reason that it was decided today to ensure CONQUEROR began well and was able to maintain a position with a horse directly to its outside. It was felt that by doing this, the horse may race more competitively. He stated that he briefly rode his mount along in the early stages to ensure that he was able to cross runners to his inside whilst always maintaining a position inside COSMO SUCCESSOR. He said this resulted in the horse being ridden in a more forward position than had been anticipated. He stated that by being able to race between horses today, CONQUEROR raced more genuinely. Mr Wong advised that his instructions had been consistent throughout the horse’s campaign leading up to today’s race. He said the only instructions he had ever issued were to have the horse racing where it was comfortable. He said he noted that at its last start, the horse appeared to him to want to get away from runners to its inside and for this reason he advised Jockey Sit to ensure that the horse was able to race inside of other runners throughout the race. S K Sit and Mr Wong were advised that, in the opinion of the Stewards, there was a marked difference in the manner in which CONQUEROR was ridden in the early stages today compared to its first two starts this season. Mr Wong was also advised to ensure that the instructions he gives riders on horses trained by him are wherever possible of a consistent nature and that horses trained by him perform in a consistent manner wherever possible. A veterinary inspection of COSMO SUCCESSOR after the race did not show any significant findings. DOUBLE DRAGON, CONQUEROR and HIGH INTELLIGENT were sent for sampling.