03/02/2010  Happy Valley  Race 8

MERIDIAN PRIDE was withdrawn on 2.2.10 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame right fore) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter GOOD GAINS. Before being allowed to race again, MERIDIAN PRIDE will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. CHATER D’CAT began awkwardly and shortly after the start was checked when crowded for room between MASTER GUNNER and WEI HAI INVINCIBLE which got its head on the side and shifted out abruptly shortly after the start. In this incident, MASTER GUNNER also became unbalanced after being bumped by CHATER D’CAT. Over the concluding stages, ABSOLUTE HEDGE got its head on the side and shifted out under pressure. When questioned regarding his riding of STEEL NERVES in the early stages, J Lloyd stated that he was instructed to ride the horse in a similar position to its last start when it was successful. He said shortly after the start he shifted STEEL NERVES across behind runners to a position on the fence and observed CHATER D’CAT being ridden aggressively to his outside to take up a more forward position. He said he felt that he would have had to make use of STEEL NERVES to maintain its position to the inside of that horse and that, in his opinion, it would not have been in the best interests of STEEL NERVES as the horse was travelling well. He said for this reason STEEL NERVES raced further back in the race than had been intended. J Lloyd was advised that, in the opinion of the Stewards, he should have attempted to maintain his position to the inside of CHATER D’CAT rather than allowing that horse to cross which would have afforded STEEL NERVES to follow ABSOLUTE HEDGE through the run. He was further advised to ensure he rides his mounts in such a manner so as to avail himself of advantageous positions wherever possible. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of BULLISH WIN, B Prebble stated that he had been instructed to lead tonight if possible, however, if other horses showed superior speed, it was acceptable for him to obtain a position with cover behind those horses. He said BULLISH WIN began well, he immediately noticed that a number of horses drawn to his outside were being ridden along to obtain forward positions, therefore rather than making too much use of BULLISH WIN in the early stages, he elected to allow those runners to shift in in advance of BULLISH WIN and provide him with cover. He said BULLISH WIN travelled well throughout the race albeit it travelled a little keenly approaching the 800 Metres, resulting in it being awkwardly placed close to the heels of WEI HAI INVINCIBLE. He said he elected to shift out rounding the Home Turn to make his finishing run, however, was unable to do so due to EURO SWIFTLY racing to his outside He stated that irrespective of this, when he commenced to ride BULLISH WIN along, the horse was disappointing in that it failed to respond to his riding. A veterinary inspection of BULLISH WIN after the race did not show any significant findings. SOVIET PEARL and ABSOLUTE HEDGE were sent for sampling.