24/09/2017  Shatin  Race 7

Despite being vigorously ridden in the early stages, EASY TOUCH failed to muster speed and consequently raced back in the field. From wide barriers, FAST MOST FURIOUS and LUCKY GUY were shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Passing the 900 Metres, WINNING FAITH was steadied when racing tight inside PERFECT CHOICE which proved difficult to settle when awkwardly placed inside the heels of MALMSTEEN. Passing the 200 Metres, RIGHT CALL shifted out under pressure and raced tight inside ALL YOU NEED. RIGHT CALL was then momentarily crowded for room between ALL YOU NEED and MALMSTEEN which was directed out after racing tight outside SUPERPOWER. TIME TO CELEBRATE, which was following, was shifted in away from the heels of RIGHT CALL as a consequence. Near the 150 Metres, N Rawiller (SUPERPOWER) dropped his whip. Throughout the race, MALMSTEEN travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, Z Purton (FAST MOST FURIOUS) stated that he had to ride his mount hard for some distance after the 700 Metres due to LUCKY GUY attempting to shift out to his outside. He said as he did not want to be taken unnecessarily wide, he was obliged to ride his mount along to prevent LUCKY GUY from shifting out and this resulted in FAST MOST FURIOUS being under pressure in the middle stages. He said approaching the Home Turn FAST MOST FURIOUS became unbalanced after being bumped by LUCKY GUY which was attempting to shift out from behind WINNING FAITH. He said FAST MOST FURIOUS again became unbalanced after being bumped by LUCKY GUY (N Callan) when that horse blundered when continuing to race close to the heels of WINNING FAITH near the 450 Metres. He added he commenced to ride his mount along at the entrance to the Straight to improve into running between WINNING FAITH and MASTER ALBERT which was improving around FAST MOST FURIOUS. He said after initially being awkwardly placed outside WINNING FAITH which shifted out under pressure, FAST MOST FURIOUS was not travelling well enough to quicken into the run between those horses and he had to steady his mount after the 300 Metres due to WINNING FAITH having initially shifted out and then MASTER ALBERT commencing to shift in when improving forward of FAST MOST FURIOUS. He added after the 200 Metres he commenced to shift to the outside of MASTER ALBERT, however, that horse drifted out under pressure and he had to shift out further to that horse’s outside after the 100 Metres to obtain clear running. He said over the concluding stages FAST MOST FURIOUS finished off the race well. N Callan was spoken to regarding LUCKY GUY racing close to the heels of WINNING FAITH rounding the Home Turn which resulted in that horse blundering. When questioned, J Moreira stated that he had been provided with two sets of instructions for MASTER ALBERT. He said if the horse began well and showed sufficient early speed, he was given the option to be able to ride the horse in a forward position, however, if the horse did not begin well enough to clear runners to its inside without having to be aggressively ridden, then he should shift the horse across behind runners and obtain a position closer to the rail in keeping with the manner in which the horse had previously been ridden from wide barriers. He said when MASTER ALBERT only began with the field, he elected to shift the horse across behind runners and obtain cover. After the race, an endoscopic examination was conducted on EASY TOUCH at the request of Trainer C S Shum. The Veterinary Surgeon reported that this examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea. Before being allowed to race again, EASY TOUCH will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. MASTER ALBERT, SUPER FLUKE and WINNING FAITH were sent for sampling.