27/12/2016  Shatin  Race 4

ENCHANTED FEELING was withdrawn on 26.12.16 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame right fore) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter VICTORY HEART (M L Yeung). Before being allowed to race again, ENCHANTED FEELING will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. SUPER SIXTEEN and WIN FOR CHARITY were slow to begin. CURLING LUXURY shifted out at the start and bumped the hindquarters of JUMBO HAPPINESS. Making the turn after the 900 Metres, KWAICHUNG BROTHERS got its head up and shifted out towards the heels of WIN FOR CHARITY which was racing tight inside WINNER ST PAUL'S. SUPER SIXTEEN was held up for clear running in the early part of the Straight and approaching the 250 Metres was shifted in away from the heels of SPRING WIN which hung in under pressure. Throughout the race, BOSSIEE travelled wide and without cover. VICTORY DUKE finished tailed out after travelling wide and without cover for the majority of the race. A veterinary inspection of VICTORY DUKE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, the horse was unable to be scoped due to being fractious. The performance of VICTORY DUKE was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, VICTORY DUKE will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of AUTOPAY, J Moreira stated that after riding his mount along in the early stages to obtain a forward position, AUTOPAY got its head up on a number of occasions approaching the 900 Metres as he attempted to steady the horse to obtain cover behind BOSSIEE. He said because of the manner in which AUTOPAY was racing, he was not able to obtain a trailing position behind BOSSIEE, however, he was satisfied with the manner in which the horse was travelling during the middle stages. He added he placed AUTOPAY under pressure in the early part of the Straight, but rather than improve its position the horse gave ground and after riding it along, he eased it down over the final 200 Metres as he was concerned for the horse's welfare. He said however that after the race he was not able to detect any abnormalities with AUTOPAY. Mr C S Shum, the trainer of AUTOPAY, said the horse had done well since its last start and he expected it to race competitively today. He said although the horse had lost some body weight in the lead up to today's race, nonetheless it had eaten up as normal and he was satisfied with the horse's condition for today's race. He said he was not able to offer any explanation for the horse's disappointing performance as AUTOPAY had appeared to have pulled up well after the race. A veterinary inspection of AUTOPAY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, the horse was unable to be scoped due to being fractious. The performance of AUTOPAY, one of the favoured runners for today's race, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, AUTOPAY will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. HOT HOT PEPPER, SUPER SIXTEEN and SPRING WIN were sent for sampling. <28/12/2016 Additional Veterinary Report>The Clinical Veterinary Surgeon reported that VICTORY HEART was lame in its right front leg on the morning after racing. Before being allowed to race again, VICTORY HEART will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.