23/12/2010  Happy Valley  Race 6

On arrival at the Start, it was noted that GREEN JACKET had lost its right front plate. This plate was refitted. GREEN JACKET was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said in his opinion it was suitable to race. GREEN JACKET began awkwardly and lost ground at the start. At the entrance to the Straight, MOON CHASER was shifted in across the heels of EASY AHEAD which was commencing to give ground. Throughout the race, GREAT LUCK travelled wide and without cover. When questioned regarding his riding of RECORD HIGH, N Callan stated that he had been instructed to lead on the horse if possible as it had been successful at its most recent start when ridden in this manner. He said he rode RECORD HIGH along in the early stages to cross runners to his inside and he was able to obtain the lead on the rail passing the winning post on the first occasion. He said after the 1300 Metres EASY AHEAD improved to be racing to his outside, however, he continued to allow RECORD HIGH to maintain its position to the inside of EASY AHEAD to ascertain whether it was the intention of the rider of that horse to lead. He said after passing the 1200 Metres he was aware that the tempo of the race was fast and after the 1100 Metres commenced to steady RECORD HIGH to allow EASY AHEAD to cross. He added however that RECORD HIGH did not come back underneath him as he had hoped and for this reason he was not able to steady RECORD HIGH as he would have wished. N Callan conceded that in retrospect he should have restrained RECORD HIGH sooner than he did as the fast tempo of the race in the early and middle stages meant that the horse was not able to finish off the race. Trainer Y S Tsui advised the Stewards that he had instructed N Callan to attempt to lead on RECORD HIGH, however, he did state that if EASY AHEAD, a horse which is well-known to him, was intent on leading, he should allow that horse to cross to the lead. When questioned regarding his riding of EASY AHEAD, Apprentice T H So stated that he had been under explicit instructions to lead on the horse and to obtain the rail as the horse had performed best when ridden in this manner. He said it was expected that RECORD HIGH would go forward in the race, however, he anticipated that EASY AHEAD would show superior speed to that horse and would be able to cross to the fence and dictate the tempo of the race. He said from barrier 9 he had to make some use of EASY AHEAD to cross runners to his inside and approaching the 1300 Metres improved to be racing to the outside of RECORD HIGH. He said he continued to allow EASY AHEAD to stride forward as he wished to show his intention to lead the race. He said he was somewhat surprised that RECORD HIGH continued to maintain its position to the inside of EASY AHEAD, however, due to the nature of his instructions, he did not believe it was open to him to restrain EASY AHEAD even though he knew the tempo of the race was too fast. He said passing the 1200 Metres he still felt that if he continued to press forward that the rider of RECORD HIGH would steady his mount to allow EASY AHEAD to cross, however, EASY AHEAD was not able to cross to the rail until after passing the 800 Metres. He said because of the tempo of the race in the early and middle stages, EASY AHEAD quickly came under pressure in the Straight. Trainer L Ho confirmed the riding instructions given to Apprentice So. He said he felt that EASY AHEAD would be able to obtain the lead without having too much use made of it and it was expected that EASY AHEAD would be able to dictate the tempo of the race to suit itself. He said as he expected EASY AHEAD to obtain a comfortable lead in the race, he expected EASY AHEAD to perform well tonight and advised the owner of the horse accordingly. Jockey Callan, Apprentice So, Mr Tsui and Mr Ho were all advised that the Stewards would review the circumstances of tonight`s race before finalising the matter. A veterinary inspection of RECORD HIGH and EASY AHEAD after the race did not show any significant findings. LEGEND EXPRESS and GO LUCKY GO were sent for sampling.