18/11/2009  Happy Valley  Race 6

LHOJONG was withdrawn on 16.11.09 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (substantial amount of mucopus in trachea on scoping after track work) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter BULLISH WIN. Before being allowed to race again, LHOJONG will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. VICTORY STYLE began awkwardly, shifted in and bumped HAPPY GO LUCKY. Passing the 1400 Metres, LUCKY AMICI was steadied to avoid the heels of HAPPY GO LUCKY (G Mossé) which shifted in when not quite clear. In this incident, SPEEDY WARRIOR, which was racing inside LUCKY AMICI, was crowded for room. G Mossé was reprimanded and advised to ensure that he is sufficiently clear when shifting ground in future. Near the 1100 Metres, LUMINOUS was checked away from the heels of HAPPY AMBASSADOR. MAN IN THE MIRROR, which was following LUMINOUS, was shifted out away from the heels of that horse, resulting in SUPER GENKI being taken wider. After this, MAN IN THE MIRROR continued to prove difficult to settle for some distance. B Prebble (HAPPY AMBASSADOR) was found guilty of a charge of careless riding [Rule 100(1)] in that rounding the Home Turn he permitted his mount to shift out when not clear of LUCKY AMICI, causing that horse to be checked and lose its rightful running. B Prebble was suspended from riding in races for a period to expire on Thursday 10 December 2009 on which day he may resume race riding (2 Hong Kong racedays). The commencement of the suspension was deferred until after the Happy Valley racemeeting on Wednesday 2 December 2009. In the early part of the Straight, HAPPY GO LUCKY shifted in under pressure. Near the 100 Metres, LUMINOUS was momentarily steadied when disappointed for running between BULLISH WIN and HAPPY GO LUCKY which shifted in. When questioned, W C Marwing stated that it was felt that if SUPER GENERAL was ridden forward from barrier 11 tonight, the horse may be left racing wide and without cover as there was a number of horses drawn to his inside which race in forward positions. He said it was also felt that if use was made of SUPER GENERAL in the early stages to take up a forward position, the horse would over-race as it has shown in the past that it is light-mouthed. He said for this reason it was decided not to press forward on SUPER GENERAL but rather to have it race with cover where it was comfortable. He added SUPER GENERAL threw its head in the air on a number of occasions shortly after the start and then for some distance in the early stages proved difficult to settle. He said when ridden in this manner, SUPER GENERAL was able to finish off the race tonight. A veterinary inspection of LUCKY AMICI at the request of Trainer S Woods after the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of SPEEDY WARRIOR, SUPER GENKI and VICTORY STYLE after the race did not show any significant findings. EASY AHEAD, BULLISH WIN and HAPPY AMBASSADOR were sent for sampling.