11/09/2011  Shatin  Race 5

At declaration time, B Doyle was declared as the rider of both GOOD THINKER and STAR LEGEND. It was established that B Doyle had a firm commitment to ride GOOD THINKER. As such, the Stewards permitted Y T Cheng to be substituted as the rider of STAR LEGEND. For this declaration error, B Doyle was fined $2,000. BLOSSOM DAILY, which proved difficult to load, will be required to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test before being allowed to race again. After being loaded, CASTLE HERO became fractious. Before being allowed to race again, CASTLE HERO will be required to perform satisfactorily in an official barrier trial. GOOD THINKER was slow to begin. From a wide barrier, FORTUNE TOGETHER was taken across behind runners shortly after the start. Shortly after initially being ridden along in the early stages from the outside barrier, DELISH was taken across behind runners to obtain cover shortly after the start. Making the first turn near the 850 Metres, BLOSSOM DAILY raced tight between BIG WINNER AGAIN which shifted out slightly after being bumped on the hindquarters by BLOSSOM DAILY and SHIBALA which shifted in. After the 900 Metres, HOT PEPPER was checked away from the heels of CASTLE HERO which lost ground when reluctant to maintain its position inside BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. For the majority of the race, EKRAAR EMPEROR travelled wide and without cover. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of SHIBALA, O Doleuze stated that he was able to shift across from barrier 9 in the early stages to obtain a position one horse off the fence after the 800 Metres. He said SHIBALA travelled well and when asked to quicken after the 350 Metres initially responded well to his riding. He said however that near the 200 Metres SHIBALA came under pressure, got its head on the side and lay in. He added, in his opinion, SHIBALA’s last 200 Metres of the race was disappointing, however, in his opinion, the horse would derive benefit from today’s race. A veterinary inspection of SHIBALA and BEAUTIFUL SCENERY after the race did not show any significant findings. SHIBALA, ALL VICTORY and DELISH were sent for sampling. <12/9/2011 Additional Veterinary Report>SHIBALA, which performed poorly, was examined by the Veterinary Officer. He said at that time there were no significant findings. SHIBALA was again examined by the Veterinary Officer at the stables of Trainer K L Man this morning. He said at this time he noted the horse to be lame in its right front leg. Before being allowed to race again, SHIBALA will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.