21/02/2010  Shatin  Race 2

SOUND OF SILENCE was fractious in the gates, resulting in H W Lai being dislodged. The horse was removed from the stalls and examined by the Veterinary Officer who said in his opinion it was suitable to race. Before being allowed to race again, SOUND OF SILENCE will have to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test. Prior to the start being effected, OCTAGONAL CANYON lunged at the barriers and broke open the front gates. OCTAGONAL CANYON was quickly restrained and returned to the Start where it was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said in his opinion it was suitable to race. Before being allowed to race again, OCTAGONAL CANYON will have to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test. As a result of both these incidents, FABULOUS START, which has a history of being fractious in the barriers, was also removed from the stalls. BRAVO HORSE and FASTER FASTER bumped at the start. FABULOUS START shifted in at the start and bumped LANCELOT which in turn shifted in and hampered DIVINE KID. Passing the 300 Metres, DECENT FELLOW was steadied away from the heels of QUALITY-QUALITY which shifted in. In this incident, DECENT FELLOW shifted in and bumped CENTENNIAL SMILE, resulting in both horses becoming unbalanced. DIVINE KID was unable to obtain clear running until passing the 200 Metres. For the majority of the race, FASTER FASTER travelled wide and without cover. A veterinary inspection of PURE ALPHA after the race did not show any significant findings. DECENT FELLOW and DIVINE KID were sent for sampling. Following the race, the Veterinary Officer reported that some blood was noted in the left nostril of QUALITY-QUALITY, however, an endoscopic examination of the horse found no blood to be present in the trachea. Accordingly, the horse was not deemed to have bled.