09/11/2014  Shatin  Race 1

CALIFORNIA ROCK was withdrawn on 7.11.14 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (sore left eye) and was replaced by first Standby Declared Starter ENJOY THE FUN (C Y Ho). Before being allowed to race again, CALIFORNIA ROCK will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. SEA SMOKE was withdrawn on 8.11.14 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame right fore) and was replaced by second Standby Declared Starter COSMO ONE (M Chadwick). Before being allowed to race again, SEA SMOKE will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. WINNING BOY began awkwardly and shifted in, resulting in HAPPY GOAL being bumped and in turn taken in onto SPARKLING SWORD which became unbalanced and shifted in, causing BERNARD’S CHOICE to be momentarily hampered. COPY STAR began awkwardly and shortly after the start was bumped by COSMO ONE. ENJOY THE FUN shifted out at the start and bumped SECRET AGENT. From the outside barrier, JUST GOOD was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. For a considerable distance after the 700 Metres, WINNING BOY was awkwardly placed close to the heels of HAPPY GOAL and approaching the 600 Metres raced tight between HAPPY GOAL and FLYING RED after improving into tight running between those horses. Approaching the 600 Metres, BERNARD’S CHOICE was momentarily crowded for room inside HAPPY GOAL which shifted in when racing fiercely. In the early part of the Straight, COPY STAR was awkwardly placed close to the heels of FLYING RED and then passing the 200 Metres was held up when improving into tight running between FLYING RED and COSMO ONE. Passing the 200 Metres, SPARKLING SWORD was shifted to the inside of the heels of SIR JOHN in an attempt to obtain clear running. After this, SPARKLING SWORD was unable to obtain clear running when awkwardly placed behind SIR JOHN. Approaching the 100 Metres, SHANGHAI PIONEER was awkwardly placed inside the heels of WINNING BOY. Throughout the race, COSMO ONE travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, K C Leung (HAPPY GOAL) stated that he had been asked to lead on the rail if possible. He said it was felt that the main impediment to HAPPY GOAL being able to obtain the lead would be SIR JOHN which had drawn barrier 1. He said he was instructed that in the event HAPPY GOAL was not able to cross SIR JOHN and obtain the rail, then he should sit outside that horse. He said in accordance with his instructions, he rode HAPPY GOAL vigorously in the early stages after being crowded for room on jumping. He said despite being aggressively ridden, HAPPY GOAL did not show the early speed that he expected, however, he continued to ride the horse along in order to comply with his instructions. He said although it soon became apparent to him that he would not be able to clear SIR JOHN which began very well, he continued to ride HAPPY GOAL aggressively for the first 200 Metres in order to prevent ENJOY THE FUN from being able to cross HAPPY GOAL. He said at all stages racing along the Back Straight, ENJOY THE FUN held a margin over HAPPY GOAL and bearing in mind that he had ridden the horse along for such a sustained period in the early stages, he felt it was in the best interests of HAPPY GOAL not to continue riding it along as ENJOY THE FUN was always racing in advance of HAPPY GOAL and he felt that he would have had to make unnecessary use of HAPPY GOAL to prevent ENJOY THE FUN from crossing and consequently HAPPY GOAL would not be able to finish off its race. He added after being crossed by ENJOY THE FUN near the 800 Metres, HAPPY GOAL then commenced to prove very difficult to settle and had to be continually checked away from the heels of that horse until after the 600 Metres. He said in this time HAPPY GOAL became unbalanced on a number of occasions after getting its head up when racing close to the heels of ENJOY THE FUN. Mr L Ho, the trainer of HAPPY GOAL, confirmed Jockey Leung’s advice on how he had asked for HAPPY GOAL to be ridden. He said whilst he had concerns that HAPPY GOAL may not have been able to cross SIR JOHN, he felt that the horse had sufficient speed to be able to obtain a position outside that horse, however, it was apparent to him that despite Jockey Leung making a more than reasonable effort to comply with his instructions, HAPPY GOAL did not display the early speed today that it had shown in its recent races. He added HAPPY GOAL had trained on very well since its last start success and the only reason he could put forward for the horse’s failure to show more pace in the early stages was that HAPPY GOAL had climbed steadily in weights which may have impacted upon the horse’s early speed today. After considering the evidence and viewing the videos, the Stewards advised K C Leung that they accepted his evidence and were satisfied that he had given HAPPY GOAL full opportunity to take up a leading position if it was so able. A veterinary inspection of HAPPY GOAL immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of FLYING RED immediately following the race confirmed the horse to be a “roarer” which had previously been reported. SPARKLING SWORD, SECRET AGENT and SIR JOHN were sent for sampling.