04/05/2016  Happy Valley  Race 8

SUPEROI was slow to begin and shortly after the start was crowded for room between WINNING LEADER which was also slow to begin and LITTLE DRAGON which shifted out. APPROVE lost its right front plate on jumping. DASHING KING shifted out at the start and bumped GONNA RUN. From a wide barrier, WINNING LEADER was steadied and shifted across behind runners in the early stages. After being ridden along vigorously to improve its position, PIKACHU was steadied near the 1400 Metres when crowded for room inside TURF SPRINT which was racing tight inside DASHING KING which, when being steadied to allow INVINCIBLE DRAGON (N Callan) to cross, was awkwardly placed close to the heels of that horse which was being steadied. As there were a number of circumstances associated with this incident, no further action was taken, however, N Callan was advised to ensure that he is properly clear of runners to his inside when shifting ground. After the 1200 Metres, LITTLE DRAGON was left racing wide and without cover. Passing the 1000 Metres, WINNING LEADER got its head up on a number of occasions when proving difficult to settle. When the tempo of the race slackened near the 900 Metres, DASHING KING and TURF SPRINT commenced to prove very difficult to settle when awkwardly placed close to the heels of runners in front. PIKACHU, which was following TURF SPRINT, was checked away from the heels of that horse in consequence. Passing the 900 Metres, SUPEROI shifted out away from the heels of CARTOON FAY FAY, resulting in SUPEROI racing wide and without cover for the remainder of the race. CARTOON FAY FAY was also left racing wide and without cover near the 800 Metres. Rounding the Home Turn, PIKACHU was checked away from the heels of APPROVE which was commencing to give ground. Shortly after entering the Straight, TURF SPRINT and PIKACHU made heavy contact due to TURF SPRINT shifting out marginally and PIKACHU shifting to the inside of APPROVE to obtain clear running. Approaching the 200 Metres, CARTOON FAY FAY, which was giving ground, momentarily raced in restricted room between GONNA RUN and SUPEROI. Near the 150 Metres, FANTASTIC KAKA momentarily raced in restricted room inside ISHVARA. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of INVINCIBLE DRAGON, N Callan stated that his mount, which was having its first start at Happy Valley and had not trialed here previously, became quite worked up prior to the start and then proved difficult to load. He said he was able to obtain a trailing position on INVINCIBLE DRAGON after the 1400 Metres and the horse then travelled satisfactorily in the early and middle stages. He said when the tempo of the race slackened on entering the Back Straight, he shifted INVINCIBLE DRAGON out into a three wide position to be following initially LITTLE DRAGON and then CARTOON FAY FAY after the 800 Metres. He added he placed INVINCIBLE DRAGON under pressure prior to the Home Turn, however, the horse finished off the race only fairly. He said, in his opinion, the horse’s performance tonight was attributable to the fact that it was stepping up from 1200 Metres to 1650 Metres and was competing at Happy Valley for the first occasion. A veterinary inspection of INVINCIBLE DRAGON immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned regarding the performance of TURF SPRINT, N Rawiller stated that the horse, which was having its first start over 1650 Metres tonight, blundered badly at the start. He said TURF SPRINT then proved very difficult to settle in the early stages, but particularly in the middle stages when the tempo of the race slackened. He said after becoming badly unbalanced at the top of the Straight due to contact with PIKACHU, he eased the horse down as TURF SPRINT had run its race at that time. He added whilst the horse was disappointing, it was not able to see out the distance of the race given the manner in which it travelled. He said because of this he recommended to connections that they consider dropping the horse back in distance in its future races. A veterinary inspection of TURF SPRINT immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. INVINCIBLE DRAGON, GONNA RUN and ISHVARA were sent for sampling.