05/06/2016  Shatin  Race 9

SANTA FE SUN was withdrawn on 4.6.16 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame left fore) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter STAR MAJESTIC (Y T Cheng). Before being allowed to race again, SANTA FE SUN will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. AMAZING AGILITY was slow to begin. After initially being ridden along in the early stages, HAPPILABABY was steadied passing the 1600 Metres and shifted to a position closer to the rail at the rear of the field. Rounding the Home Turn, STAR MAJESTIC was bumped and taken wider by ISHVARA which shifted out into clear running. Throughout the race, STAR MAJESTIC travelled wide and without cover. When questioned regarding his riding of WINNING LEADER, Apprentice H N Wong stated that he was instructed to lead on the horse as it had performed well when ridden in that fashion at its last start. He said after riding his mount along in the initial stages of the race to obtain the lead, he then attempted to steady WINNING LEADER after the 1600 Metres and the horse initially settled well. He said although WINNING LEADER was going slightly quicker than he had intended after the 1400 Metres, the horse then commenced to travel stronger approaching and passing the 1200 Metres when RICKFIELD improved its position to be racing outside WINNING LEADER. He added he attempted to steady the tempo on WINNING LEADER, however, the horse was travelling strongly and he was reluctant to restrain it too much in case it broke its stride and would over-race. He said he tried to steady the tempo as best as he could without restraining the horse too heavily, however, WINNING LEADER continued to travel strongly in the lead and opened up a margin over the remainder of the field, particularly after the 900 Metres. Mr C H Yip, the trainer of WINNING LEADER, confirmed that he had instructed Apprentice Wong to obtain the lead on the horse if possible, however, if another horse was intent on leading, he should be prepared to allow that horse to cross and for WINNING LEADER to then take a trailing position. He said he was of the opinion that WINNING LEADER had run the race slightly too quick at its most recent start when ridden by Apprentice Wong and therefore he asked Apprentice Wong, if possible, to rate WINNING LEADER better in front than he had on that occasion so as to allow the horse to be able to finish off the race strongly. Apprentice Wong was advised that although he is a 7 lb claiming apprentice jockey, nonetheless he had had a significant number of rides in Hong Kong which includes 30 race wins. He was further advised that his riding of WINNING LEADER was not up to the standard expected of any rider in Hong Kong in that the horse was required to run at a particularly fast tempo which meant that it then was not able to finish off the race. Having regard to Apprentice Wong's level of experience, the Stewards decided in the circumstances to issue a severe reprimand, however, he was advised that were he to ride a horse in a similar manner in the future, it may be that the Stewards would consider issuing a charge of having breached the Rules of Racing. A veterinary inspection of ENSURING and HAPPILABABY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. SOLAR HEI HEI and BASIC TRILOGY were sent for sampling.