11/04/2018  Happy Valley  Race 8

LUCKY HERO and BACK IN BLACK bumped heavily at the start. A short distance after the start, BACK IN BLACK was taken out by EXCEPTIONAL DESIRE and then shifted out further, resulting in LUCKY HERO being taken out onto WONDERFUL JOURNEY which in turn was taken out across the running of GENEROUS HEART which was checked when crowded for room inside SUNNY DRAGON which was racing tight inside RAGING BLITZKRIEG. When bumped on the hindquarters by GENEROUS HEART, SUNNY DRAGON became unbalanced and shifted in further, exacerbating the crowding to GENEROUS HEART. From a wide barrier, IRON BOY was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. After initially being clear of WONDERFUL JOURNEY which was being ridden along to obtain a forward position after being hampered at the start, STORM SIGNAL (J Moreira) was steadied making the turn near the 1000 Metres which resulted in WONDERFUL JOURNEY getting its head up when being checked away from the heels of STORM SIGNAL. STORM SIGNAL was then shifted out to relieve the tightening to WONDERFUL JOURNEY. J Moreira was advised that whilst in the opinion of the Stewards he had been initially clear of WONDERFUL JOURNEY to shift across, he had erred in steadying STORM SIGNAL prior to crossing WONDERFUL JOURNEY which resulted in that horse being awkwardly placed on the heels of STORM SIGNAL. He was further advised to ensure that he provides sufficient clearance when shifting ground in similar circumstances. When being steadied to obtain cover passing the 1000 Metres, SUNNY DRAGON got its head up on a number of occasions and proved very difficult to settle. Then throughout the race, SUNNY DRAGON travelled wide and without cover. Also for the majority of the race, RAGING BLITZKRIEG travelled wide and without cover. Close to the finishing line, EXCEPTIONAL DESIRE was awkwardly placed inside the heels of BACK IN BLACK which got its head on the side and lay in. Because of this, C Schofield was not able to fully ride EXCEPTIONAL DESIRE out all the way to the end of the race. When questioned regarding the performance of LUCKY HERO, Apprentice M F Poon stated that he was asked to ride the horse in a forward position. He said however that after being hampered at the start LUCKY HERO was required to race much further back in the field than had been intended. He said at no stage of the race did LUCKY HERO travel comfortably and he had to continually niggle at his mount to have it maintain its position. He said LUCKY HERO did not quicken when placed under pressure after the 500 Metres and although the horse was awkwardly placed close to the heels of IRON BOY after the 200 Metres, LUCKY HERO at this time was well beaten. He added, in his opinion, LUCKY HERO, which was racing at Happy Valley for the first occasion tonight, was disappointing. A veterinary inspection of LUCKY HERO immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of RAGING BLITZKRIEG immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. LUCKY HERO, BREEDERS’ STAR and BACK IN BLACK were sent for sampling.