25/03/2018  Shatin  Race 5

DYNAMIC EAGLE and MCQUEEN bumped at the start. SALTO OLIMPICO and MARVEL JOY were crowded for room on jumping between TAI SMART and RIGHTEOUS MATE, both of which shifted ground. Passing the 500 Metres, TRAVEL FIRST raced tight between UNICRON JEWELLERY and MARQULA which shifted out. A Sanna (MCQUEEN) reported that his saddle shifted to the right in the Straight when riding his horse out, placing him at a disadvantage over the concluding stages. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of MARQULA, O Doleuze stated that he had expected the horse to race very well given that, in his opinion, the horse had improved in its track work since its last start success. He said he was able to obtain a good position on the horse after beginning from a wide barrier and was able to obtain a trailing position behind GREEN ENERGY in the early stages. He said MARQULA travelled strongly in the early and middle stags, however, came under pressure after the 600 Metres. He said given that the horse had travelled so well in the race, he expected it to respond strongly to his riding, however, MARQULA came under immediate pressure rounding the Home Turn and then, despite being fully tested in the Straight, gave ground. He said over the concluding stages MARQULA became unbalanced in its action which concerned him that there may have been something amiss with the horse, however, he was unable to immediately identify any abnormalities in respect of the horse’s wellbeing. Trainer C W Chang was not able to offer any excuse for the horse’s performance other than the fact that it was up in grade today. He said whilst today’s surface was rated "Good” as it was at its last start when the horse was successful, he felt that today’s track was firmer than that of its most recent start and the horse may not have appreciated the firmer surface given that it had previously experienced soundness issues. He added irrespective of these factors, he believed that MARQULA was very disappointing given that he shared Jockey Doleuze’s belief that the horse had improved in its track work since its last start success. A veterinary inspection of MARQULA immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of MARQULA, a last start winner, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, MARQULA will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. After the race, Z Purton stated that, in his opinion, TRAVEL FIRST was not suited by today’s track surface. He said TRAVEL FIRST may be better suited racing on a track with more give in it than that of today’s racing surface. A veterinary inspection of TRAVEL FIRST immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of UNICRON JEWELLERY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. UNICRON JEWELLERY, AGREE and GREEN ENERGY were sent for sampling.