21/06/2015  Shatin  Race 6

WIN ALONG was slow to begin. COUP D’ETAT shifted in on jumping and bumped SUPERKING DRAGON. NATURAL FRIENDSHIP shifted in abruptly at the start. From a wide barrier, REAL GENEROUS was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Passing the 1600 Metres, SUPERKING DRAGON raced tight inside COUP D’ETAT which got its head on the side and shifted in. Approaching the 1500 Metres, OCEAN POWER got its head up when being steadied away from the heels of COUP D’ETAT which continued to lay in. After the 1200 Metres, ROUGE ET BLANC was awkwardly placed inside the heels of COUP D’ETAT which shifted in marginally. A short distance later, ROUGE ET BLANC was steadied away from the heels of COUP D’ETAT which was awkwardly placed inside the heels of MALAYAN PEARL. Approaching the 1000 Metres, GO SANDY GO was steadied after attempting to improve between OCEAN POWER and NATURAL FRIENDSHIP where there was insufficient room. Passing the 700 Metres, WIN ALONG was shifted out away from the heels of REAL GENEROUS which was awkwardly placed behind NATURAL FRIENDSHIP. Approaching the 500 Metres, REAL GENEROUS raced in restricted room between NATURAL FRIENDSHIP and WIN ALONG. Rounding the Home Turn, FIGHTING BOY was unable to improve when racing behind ROUGE ET BLANC and inside GO SANDY GO. At the entrance to the Straight, OCEAN POWER was awkwardly placed close to the heels of SUPERKING DRAGON. Approaching the 200 Metres, GO SANDY GO was shifted in away from the heels of SUPERKING DRAGON. Then passing the 100 Metres, GO SANDY GO was momentarily shifted out from behind COUP D’ETAT to continue improving. Throughout the race, KITAYA travelled wide and without cover. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of ROUGE ET BLANC, Z Purton stated that the horse did not travel at any stage of the race. He said he had intended to maintain a position inside COUP D’ETAT in the early stages of the race, however, ROUGE ET BLANC was not travelling well enough to maintain this position, therefore he attempted to balance the horse and obtain a trailing position behind COUP D’ETAT rather than to have it racing off the bridle in an attempt to establish its position. He added ROUGE ET BLANC came under pressure well prior to the Home Turn and then did not respond to his riding at any stage in the Straight. He said ROUGE ET BLANC did not feel comfortable in today’s track conditions and this, in his opinion, explained the disappointing performance of the horse. A veterinary inspection of ROUGE ET BLANC immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. After the race, J Moreira stated that, in his opinion, MALAYAN PEARL did not handle the track conditions which resulted in the horse racing disappointingly. A veterinary inspection of MALAYAN PEARL immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of ENDORSING immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of SUPERKING DRAGON immediately following the race revealed the horse to be lame in its right front leg. Before being allowed to race again, SUPERKING DRAGON will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. ROUGE ET BLANC, WIN ALONG and REAL GENEROUS were sent for sampling. <22/6/2015 Additional Veterinary Report>ENDORSING, which performed poorly, was examined by the Veterinary Officer. He said at that time there were no significant findings. ENDORSING was again examined by the Veterinary Officer at the stables of Trainer R Gibson this morning. He said at this time he noted the horse to be lame in its right front leg and have a stiff and restricted action. Before being allowed to race again, ENDORSING will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.