19/12/2015  Shatin  Race 10

As a result of A Suborics being stood down from his riding engagements earlier in the meeting, there were only two riders available to ride HYPERSONIC in this race, namely D Whyte and Apprentice H N Wong. As Stewards�� Instruction 17(1) preclude a 7 or 10 lb claiming apprentice jockey from replacing a senior rider, only D Whyte was available to ride HYPERSONIC. After riding CHEVALIER STAR in Race 8, D Whyte advised the Stewards that he was not feeling well and as such was unfit to ride HYPERSONIC. As there was not a rider available to ride HYPERSONIC, that horse was withdrawn by order of the Stewards. Shortly after the start, VERDANE was crowded for room between ACCESS YEARS and AMBER DRAGON which shifted out. MR GNOCCHI and SICHUAN VIGOUR were crowded for room on jumping between HIGH AND MIGHTY and FULL TALENT which shifted out abruptly at the start. Then passing the winning post on the first occasion SICHUAN VIGOUR, when racing wide, was steadied and shifted across behind runners to obtain a position with cover. Despite being ridden along in the early stages, WINNIE��S HORSE failed to muster speed. Near the 1300 Metres, SICHUAN VIGOUR got its head up when being steadied away from the heels of WINNIE��S HORSE. After the 1200 Metres, CIRCUIT LAND was left racing wide and without cover. For some distance approaching and passing the 1000 Metres, SANTA FE SUN proved very difficult to settle and got its head up on a number of occasions when being checked away from the heels of LORD SINCLAIR. Passing the 600 Metres, SANTA FE SUN and SICHUAN VIGOUR raced tight and made contact on a number of occasions as SANTA FE SUN attempted to shift out from behind LORD SINCLAIR. Then passing the 550 Metres, SICHUAN VIGOUR was checked away from the heels of WINNIE��S HORSE after improving to be racing behind that horse. For some distance after this, SICHUAN VIGOUR and SANTA FE SUN continued to race tight. For some distance passing the 200 Metres, BIG FOUR raced in restricted room inside VERDANE. Close to the finishing line, SANTA FE SUN and SICHUAN VIGOUR again raced tight. When questioned, U Rispoli (FULL TALENT) stated that in pre-race discussions it had been felt that were FULL TALENT to be ridden in a forward positon from barrier 10 the horse may be left racing very wide and therefore it was felt that it would be best for the horse to be ridden patiently in the early stages in order for it to save ground closer to the rail. He said the tempo of the race in the middle stages was slow but despite this, in his opinion, FULL TALENT closed off the race very well in the Straight. When questioned regarding the performance of HIGH AND MIGHTY, J Moreira stated that he had been asked to ride the horse in about midfield with cover if possible from the outside barrier. He said HIGH AND MIGHTY began well and he immediately looked to his inside with a view to obtaining a midfield position, however, as there were a number of horses racing immediately to the inside of HIGH AND MIGHTY, he did not believe it was possible for the horse to obtain this position, therefore he allowed HIGH AND MIGHTY to continue forward to obtain a position closer to the rail. He said due to the circumstances of the race HIGH AND MIGHTY was required to race outside the leader ACCESS YEARS and then in the Straight was not able to close off the race. He added, in his opinion, HIGH AND MIGHTY is better suited by being able to obtain cover which was not able to be achieved in this race. A veterinary inspection of HIGH AND MIGHTY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. HIGH AND MIGHTY, CIRCUIT LAND and ACCESS YEARS were sent for sampling.