17/10/2009  Shatin  Race 3

NAPA II was slow to begin. SOLAR UP began awkwardly. From the outside barrier, ACCELERATOR was taken across behind runners. Rounding the first turn, DOUBLE DRAGON, which was being steadied to race outside CHIEF WITNESS, was hampered when CHIEF WITNESS hung out. MY WHISKY, which was proving difficult to settle when racing behind DOUBLE DRAGON, was checked away from the heels of that horse and shifted out into a three wide position without cover. Shortly after this, MY WHISKY raced tight between CENTURY KNIGHT and DOUBLE DRAGON which was taken out further by CHIEF WITNESS which continued to hang out. NAPA II, which was following MY WHISKY, was steadied in consequence. FULL BLESSINGS, which was following NAPA II, was checked away from the heels of that horse, shifted out and bumped SAPELLI which itself, when proving difficult to settle, was checked away from the heels of EASY WIN. Near the 700 Metres, SOLAR UP was checked away from the heels of UNITED. In the early part of the Straight, UNITED had some difficulty obtaining clear running. Approaching the 100 Metres, ACCELERATOR was steadied away from the heels of FULL BLESSINGS which shifted out. EASY WIN lay out under pressure in the Straight. Throughout the race, CENTURY KNIGHT travelled wide and without cover. When questioned regarding his riding of FORTUNE PUG, M W Leung stated that he had been instructed to shift across behind the field and obtain a position close to the running rail. He said FORTUNE PUG began very well and then travelled strongly in the early stages. He said he was unable to sufficiently restrain his mount to shift across behind CENTURY KNIGHT which was racing to his inside. He said due to the manner in which FORTUNE PUG was racing, he was obliged to travel wide and without cover throughout the race. M W Leung also stated that due to FORTUNE PUG proving difficult to settle, his saddle shifted slightly to the left side in the early stages which placed him at a disadvantage. When questioned, Apprentice K C Leung (SAPELLI) stated that he had been instructed to ride the horse in behind the leaders which he anticipated would be CHIEF WITNESS and MY WHISKY. He said accordingly he endeavoured to obtain a position behind MY WHISKY in the early stages, however, that horse was not ridden to lead as he expected and this resulted in him being caught outside of the hindquarters of that horse for some distance in the early stages. He said as a result of this NAPA II was able to improve its position to his inside which resulted in SAPELLI racing three wide. He added that near the 1100 Metres he steadied to allow EASY WIN to shift in in front of him so that SAPELLI could obtain cover, but no sooner had he done this, the tempo of the race slowed which resulted in SAPELLI being checked away from EASY WIN’s heels when proving difficult to settle. He said due to the circumstances of the race, SAPELLI settled further back in the field than had been anticipated. He said he shifted his mount into clear running at the entrance to the Straight and SAPELLI then closed off the race well. A veterinary inspection of EASY WIN after the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucopus in the horse's trachea. MY WHISKY, NAPA II and DOUBLE DRAGON were sent for sampling.