20/10/2013  Happy Valley  Race 10

WRATH OF FIRE was slow to begin and when being shifted across behind runners shortly after the start was steadied away from the heels of BANKSTERS BONUS. BEAUTY TOUCH was slow to begin. From a wide barrier, NOBLE DELUXE was taken across behind runners shortly after the start. D Whyte (BUSINESS AS USUAL) was found guilty of a charge of careless riding [Rule 100(1)] in that passing the winning post on the first occasion he permitted his mount to shift in when not clear of VICTOR DELIGHT, causing that horse to be taken in onto LUCKY FOREVER which was in turn taken in onto IRIAN, causing IRIAN to become badly unbalanced when crowded for room. D Whyte was suspended from riding in races for a period to expire on Thursday, 7 November 2013 on which day he may resume race riding (3 Hong Kong racedays). The commencement of the suspension was deferred until after the Sha Tin racemeeting on Sunday, 27 October 2013. Approaching the 900 Metres, NOBLE DELUXE commenced to prove difficult to settle and was steadied away from the heels of BANKSTERS BONUS. BEAUTY TOUCH, which was following, was awkwardly placed close to the heels of NOBLE DELUXE in consequence and commenced to race ungenerously. WRATH OF FIRE, which was following BEAUTY TOUCH, was shifted away from the heels of that horse into a position without cover and after this was allowed to stride into a more forward position. TRAVEL BRAND was held up for clear running rounding the Home Turn and unable to improve its position. Passing the 400 Metres, BANKSTERS BONUS and NOBLE DELUXE raced tight as BANKSTERS BONUS attempted to shift out. BANKSTERS BONUS then was badly held up for clear running until near the 100 Metres. Passing the 300 Metres, BUSINESS AS USUAL, which was commencing to give ground, got its head on the side, lay in and was awkwardly placed outside the heels of SHINY DAY which shifted out slightly. Near the 150 Metres, J Moreira (NOBLE DELUXE) dropped his whip. C K Tong (LUCKY FOREVER) pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding [Rule 100(1)] in that over the concluding stages he permitted his mount to shift out under pressure when not clear of SHINY DAY, causing that horse to strike the heels of LUCKY FOREVER just passing the winning post and blunder. C K Tong was suspended from riding in races for a period to expire on Monday, 4 November 2013 on which day he may resume race riding (3 Hong Kong racedays). The commencement of the suspension was deferred until after the Happy Valley racemeeting on Wednesday, 23 October 2013. When questioned, Apprentice K C Ng stated that he had been asked to position REAL GENEROUS as prominently as possible. He said accordingly he rode his mount aggressively in the early stages, but despite being ridden along for a considerable distance, REAL GENEROUS did not show any early speed and he was not able to prevent BEAUTY TOUCH from shifting in in advance of REAL GENEROUS passing the winning post on the first occasion which resulted in REAL GENEROUS being positioned at the rear of the field. He added passing the 600 Metres he was positioned behind BEAUTY TOUCH and he considered following that horse forward, however, he did not believe that REAL GENEROUS was travelling well enough to cover extra ground and for this reason he decided to direct REAL GENEROUS back in and obtain inside runs in order to save as much ground as possible. He said in the Straight, despite being ridden out, REAL GENEROUS finished off the race only fairly. A veterinary inspection of VICTOR DELIGHT, BUSINESS AS USUAL and REAL GENEROUS immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. VICTOR DELIGHT, NOBLE DELUXE and TRAVEL BRAND were sent for sampling.