18/04/2012  Happy Valley  Race 1

MARVEL PLUS began awkwardly and from the outside barrier was taken across behind runners shortly after the start. JUST GOOD was slow to begin. HOT PEPPER was crowded for room at the start between ASMODAI and NOVEL START which shifted in. WORLD WAY and DRAGON CHOICE bumped at the start. Making the first turn near the 1000 Metres, WORLD WAY got its head up when awkwardly placed close to the heels of DRAGON CHOICE. After the 700 Metres, HEY HA MASTER was left racing wide and without cover. In the early part of the Straight, HOT PEPPER was shifted to the outside of ASMODAI to obtain clear running. FASCINATING SMILE, which was following HOT PEPPER, was steadied away from the heels of that horse in consequence. A short distance later, JUST GOOD was awkwardly placed close to the heels of FASCINATING SMILE. Near the 200 Metres, HEY HA MASTER, which was giving ground, became unbalanced when bumped on the hindquarters by FLYING KEEPER. When questioned, Mr P O’Sullivan, the trainer of FASCINATING SMILE, stated that when assessing the field for tonight’s race, he felt that, from barrier 11, FASCINATING SMILE may take some time to muster speed and therefore may be left racing wide in the early stages. He said for this reason he instructed C K Tong to steady FASCINATING SMILE and take it across behind runners and obtain cover. He said when ridden in this manner, he was satisfied with the way in which the horse finished off the race. When questioned regarding the performance of FLYING KEEPER, Z Purton stated that after being slow to begin, he shifted the horse across behind GRANDFIELD in the early stages. He said after doing this, he commenced to ride FLYING KEEPER along to maintain its position behind that horse, however, despite being ridden along, FLYING KEEPER failed to muster speed in the early stages and this resulted in FASCINATING SMILE being able to shift in in front of FLYING KEEPER making the first turn. He said when FASCINATING SMILE shifted in, FLYING KEEPER got its head on the side and was inclined to lay in. He added after the 500 Metres he rode FLYING KEEPER along to improve its position around GRANDFIELD, however, the horse did not pick up and this resulted in MARVEL PLUS being able to improve its position around FLYING KEEPER at this stage of the race. He said after being held up for clear running in the early part of the Straight, he obtained a tight run between HEXAGON and HEY HA MASTER near the 200 Metres at which time FLYING KEEPER made contact with the hindquarters of both those horses. He said prior to taking this run, he felt that whilst FLYING KEEPER was not going to win the race, the horse felt to him as though it was going to close off reasonably. He said however that after racing tight between HEXAGON and HEY HA MASTER, FLYING KEEPER then did not finish off its race. He added although FLYING KEEPER was disappointing on face value, he felt that there were some excuses to explain tonight’s performance. A veterinary inspection of FLYING KEEPER after the race did not show any significant findings. FLYING KEEPER, NOVEL START and ASMODAI were sent for sampling.