10/07/2011  Shatin  Race 5

VANQUISH DELIGHT began awkwardly. ZEPHYRUS was slow to begin. At the 350 Metres, LOTUS LOVE became badly unbalanced when bumped by WATCH FIRST. The performance of LOTUS LOVE, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, LOTUS LOVE will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in an official barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. JUN HUA got its head on the side and hung out over the final 200 Metres. Over the final 100 Metres, SUPER STRIKE shifted out under pressure. SUPER BOBO, which was to the outside of SUPER STRIKE, shifted out and away from that horse under pressure. Throughout the race, GREAT SHOW travelled wide and without cover. When questioned regarding the tactics adopted on GREAT SHOW, Y T Cheng stated that he had been instructed to ride the horse in a forward position which was consistent with the manner in which he had been asked to ride it in the past. He said that when GREAT SHOW was successful on 17 April 2011 at Happy Valley, he had ridden the horse with the whip in the early stages to take up a forward position, however, it did not show sufficient speed. He said today he rode GREAT SHOW along in the early stages to take up a forward position as instructed. He added that after the 1400 Metres he considered shifting GREAT SHOW in behind LOTUS LOVE to obtain cover behind that horse, however, as GREAT SHOW was travelling strongly at that time, he elected to press on and cross LOTUS LOVE after the 1000 Metres. When questioned, D Beadman stated that he had been instructed to ride WATCH FIRST in 4th or 5th position if possible. He said when doing its preliminary, WATCH FIRST was somewhat uncomfortable in its action, however, the horse freed up as it made its way to the barriers. He said he rode his mount along aggressively in the early stages to take up a forward position which included slapping it down the shoulder with the whip on a number of occasions. He said however WATCH FIRST did not stretch out in the first part of the race and for this reason near the 1400 Metres he used the whip on the horse in the backhand manner on a number of occasions in an attempt to have it travel more generously. He said after this WATCH FIRST slowly picked up and tacked onto the back of the field. He added WATCH FIRST travelled only fairly after this and came under pressure well before the Home Turn. He said he rode WATCH FIRST out in the early part of the Straight and although the horse had some difficulty obtaining clear running at various times in the Straight, it was disappointing. Trainer B K Ng reported that, in his opinion, WATCH FIRST may not have backed up from its most recent run on 1 July 2011 albeit that the horse had done well since that race. A veterinary inspection of VANQUISH DELIGHT and WATCH FIRST after the race did not show any significant findings. PROSPERITY, SUPER STRIKE and SUPER BOBO were sent for sampling.