12/02/2011  Shatin  Race 3

Whilst in the saddling stalls, KEEN WONGCHOY had its left front plate refitted. KEEN WONGCHOY was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said in his opinion it was suitable to race. After arriving at the Start, the tongue tie applied to KEEN WONGCHOY was replaced. LIFE OF BEAUTY and FUN HEROES were slow to begin. Near the 1300 Metres, MASTER GUNNER was checked when crowded in onto the hindquarters of SUPER PLUS by HAPPY MASTER (J Moreira) which shifted in. In the circumstances, J Moreira was severely reprimanded. In this incident, SUPER PLUS became badly unbalanced. Approaching the 1200 Metres, LIFE OF BEAUTY was steadied away from the heels of CHARMGOLD. For some distance passing the 1000 Metres, LIFE OF BEAUTY proved very difficult to settle and got its head up on a number of occasions. Approaching the 800 Metres, HAPPY MASTER was steadied away from the heels of LIFE OF BEAUTY. KEEN WONGCHOY was not able to obtain clear running until near the 250 Metres. D DAY SUPER, which was following CHARMGOLD in the early part of the Straight, was consequently held up for clear running until near the 200 Metres. CHARMGOLD was not able to obtain clear running until after the 200 Metres. Throughout the race, EIGHT PLUS NINE and GOOD GAINS travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, W C Marwing stated that when he had ridden FUN HEROES previously, the horse had performed best, in his opinion, when brought to the outside of runners in the Straight. He said for this reason passing the 600 Metres he elected to shift away from the fence to race behind firstly MASTER GUNNER and then HAPPY MASTER rather than improve to the inside of MASTER GUNNER. He said he did this so as to ensure that shortly after entering into the Straight he would be able to bring FUN HEROES to the outside of runners. A veterinary inspection of SUPER PLUS after the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea. Before being allowed to race again, SUPER PLUS will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. FUN HEROES, MASTER GUNNER and KEEN WONGHOY were sent for sampling.