13/03/2016  Shatin  Race 4

SLEDGE HAMMER was withdrawn on raceday morning by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame right fore). Before being allowed to race again, SLEDGE HAMMER will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. SEMPITERNAL and ENTRUSTING bumped at the start. TIANHUANG began awkwardly. TRUE COMMENT shifted out at the start and bumped the hindquarters of EXPEDITE. APACHE SPIRIT was steadied in the early stages and shifted across behind runners from a wide barrier. Making the turn after the winning post on the first occasion, EXPEDITE got its head on the side, lay in and bumped CHEERFUL FRAME. Passing the 1500 Metres, TIANHUANG got its head up on a number of occasions when proving difficult to settle and awkwardly placed close to the heels of HO LEE HORSE. For some distance after the 1200 Metres, CHEERFUL FRAME was awkwardly placed close to the heels of DIAMOND FRIENDS. Approaching the 1000 Metres, HO LEE HORSE was bumped and taken wider by CHEERFUL FRAME which shifted out away from the heels of DIAMOND FRIENDS. Passing the 900 Metres, CHEERFUL FRAME commenced to prove very difficult to settle and got its head up when being checked away from the heels of SEMPITERNAL. Near the 800 Metres, MAC ROW got its head up when travelling close to the heels of DRAGON BACHELOR. Approaching the turn near the 700 Metres, TIANHUANG and ENTRUSTING raced tight. At the 700 Metres, MAC ROW was momentarily crowded for room between ENTRUSTING which was racing tight inside TIANHUANG and DRAGON BACHELOR which became unbalanced and lost ground when momentarily crowded for room inside TRUE COMMENT which improved into tight running inside CHEERFUL FRAME. When questioned, C Schofield (HO LEE HORSE) stated that he had been instructed to ride the horse similarly to its last start, that is to obtain a forward position. He said however that it was anticipated there may have been more early speed in today's race than at its most recent start and if this was the case and he was not able to lead on HO LEE HORSE, he was advised it was acceptable to have the horse positioned with cover as close to the lead as possible. He said he rode his mount along in the early stages to comply with his instructions, however, the horse did not show the same early speed that it did at its last start. He said he rode the horse more vigorously than he did at its most recent start in the early stages, however, on that occasion HO LEE HORSE was able to obtain the lead easily. He added passing the winning post on the first occasion he steadied HO LEE HORSE to obtain a trailing position, however, due to the circumstances of the race, it was left racing without cover near the 1000 Metres when CHEERFUL FRAME shifted out. He said although the tempo of the race along the Back Straight was only fair, he did not consider riding his mount forward at this time as he had made some use of the horse in the early stages and he did not believe HO LEE HORSE was travelling well enough to sustain a run in an endeavour to clear horses to its inside and then still be able to finish off its race. A veterinary inspection of TIANHUANG and CHEERFUL FRAME immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. CHEERFUL FRAME, EXPEDITE and SEMPITERNAL were sent for sampling.