06/06/2012  Happy Valley  Race 4

On arrival at the Start, it was noted that PEGASUS SUPREME had lost its right front plate. This plate was refitted. PEGASUS SUPREME was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said in his opinion it was suitable to race. HOW WONDERFUL was slow to begin. NATURAL FLAME and RAY’S FAVOURITE bumped at the start. Shortly after the start, BRILLIANT CHARIOT was crowded for room between EASY GOLD and SUPREME TYCOON which, after being brushed by JUGGERNAUT, shifted out and away from that horse. Near the 1100 Metres, SUPREME TYCOON got its head up when being checked away from the heels of RAY’S FAVOURITE. After this, SUPREME TYCOON continued to prove difficult to settle for some distance. After the 1000 Metres, RAY’S FAVOURITE also commenced to over-race and got its head up when awkwardly placed close to the heels of BLOSSOM DAILY. RAY’S FAVOURITE continued to prove difficult to settle for some distance. Over the concluding stages, RAY’S FAVOURITE (D Whyte) got its head on the side and shifted in towards BLOSSOM DAILY which was racing tight outside PEGASUS SUPREME which shifted ground under pressure. For this reason, D Whyte stopped riding and straightened his mount. Whilst the riding of W M Lai (BRILLIANT CHARIOT), 4th placegetter, did not affect that horse’s finishing position, nonetheless he was reprimanded for failing to ride his mount out over the concluding stages as required. Throughout the race, NATURAL FLAME travelled wide and without cover. B Prebble (BLOSSOM DAILY) was fined a sum of $2,000 for repeatedly raising his whip arm above shoulder height. When questioned regarding the improved performance of PEGASUS SUPREME, Trainer K W Lui stated that at its most recent start, from a wide barrier, the horse raced wide in the early stages before being able to shift in to race outside the leader near the 900 Metres. He said the rider on that occasion reported that the horse had not relaxed when having to be ridden along to overcome its wide barrier to obtain a forward position. He said prior to that the horse had over-raced with blinkers on and for this reason he had removed the blinkers from the horse’s gear for its most recent start. He said tonight, from barrier 1, PEGASUS SUPREME was able to lead without having to be used up and because of this the horse was able to relax better than it had at its recent starts. He added he had not altered the training programme of PEGASUS SUPREME since its recent runs and he anticipated the horse would run an improved race tonight because of the inside barrier. A veterinary inspection of JUGGERNAUT after the race revealed the horse to be lame in the right front leg. Before being allowed to race again, JUGGERNAUT will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. RAY’S FAVOURITE, PEGASUS SUPREME and BLOSSOM DAILY were sent for sampling.