23/03/2016  Happy Valley  Race 1

FAIRY EAGLE began awkwardly and shifted in towards the heels of ARGENTUM, resulting in the horse losing ground. REAL GENEROUS began only fairly. When being restrained shortly after leaving the barriers, GOLD TALENT turned its head towards MASSIVE POWER. BALTIC WARRIOR was slow to begin and, from the outside barrier, was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Passing the 1500 Metres, REAL GENEROUS raced tight inside GOLD TALENT which was then shifted out to relieve the tightening to REAL GENEROUS. After this, GOLD TALENT was steadied to obtain cover. At the entrance to the Straight, DUTCH WINDMILL was awkwardly placed behind WHO'STHEDUDE due to both horses shifting ground. Passing the 300 Metres, FAIRY EAGLE was shifted out away from the heels of ARGENTUM. For the majority of the race, SPICY DOUBLE travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, Y T Cheng stated that it was felt that, from barrier 11, GOLD PRECIOUS would be able to obtain the lead with relative ease. He said however that after beginning well, he had to ride GOLD PRECIOUS along for a considerable distance to clear runners to its inside as GOLD PRECIOUS took some time to muster speed. He said near the 1200 Metres he was able to shift GOLD PRECIOUS in to race on the rail and he immediately commenced to steady the tempo on the horse. He said however that after being ridden along in the early stages, GOLD PRECIOUS proved difficult to settle and near the 1100 Metres he had to take another hold of GOLD PRECIOUS in an endeavour to have it travel at a more steady tempo. He added despite this GOLD PRECIOUS continued to race keenly and he was not able to restrain the horse further, resulting in it running quicker than had been anticipated. A veterinary inspection of GOLD TALENT immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucus in the horse's trachea. MASSIVE POWER, GO-GETTER and WHO'STHEDUDE were sent for sampling.