27/01/2019  Shatin  Race 4

DISTRICT EXPRESS began awkwardly. CASH COURIER shifted out at the start, resulting in ADONIS being crowded for room inside SURE SUPREME which became unbalanced when bumped on the hindquarters by ADONIS. After making contact with SURE SUPREME, ADONIS then shifted in, resulting in CASH COURIER being bumped and in turn shifting in of its own accord, resulting in DARING HEART being crowded for room. From wide barriers, INVESTOR BOOM, MONEY WINNER and FORTUNE WAY were all shifted across behind runners in the early stages. After the 1000 Metres, CASH COURIER was bumped by DIAMOND LEGEND which was taken in by RUN MOOCHI. Approaching the 300 Metres, NEVER BETTER was bumped by RUN MOOCHI when that horse was taken out by DIAMOND LEGEND. Passing the 300 Metres, INVESTOR BOOM was crowded for room inside SHINING BRIGHT which got its head on the side and shifted in. Throughout the race, NEVER BETTER travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, Z Purton stated that on jumping RUN MOOCHI lifted its front feet off the ground, began awkwardly and in doing so bumped the inside gate of its stall. He said this resulted in RUN MOOCHI racing further back in the early stages than has been hoped. He said for some distance passing the 1100 Metres RUN MOOCHI proved very difficult to settle and improved to be racing tight inside the heels of FLYING NOBLE where there was insufficient room. He said then passing the 1000 Metres RUN MOOCHI had to be severely checked away from the heels of FLYING NOBLE and in doing so shifted in and made heavy contact with DIAMOND LEGEND. He said after this RUN MOOCHI was awkward in its action and after the 900 Metres was left racing wide and without cover. He added in the early part of the Straight RUN MOOCHI was initially awkwardly placed outside FLYING NOBLE and then raced tight between NEVER BETTER and DIAMOND LEGEND when that horse shifted out approaching the 300 Metres. He said after this RUN MOOCHI was not improving its position and as the horse had been awkward to ride for the majority of the race, he eased it down over the concluding stages. He added when pulling up RUN MOOCHI got its head up and was inclined to run out towards the outside rail, however, he was not able to detect any obvious abnormalities with the horse. A veterinary inspection of RUN MOOCHI immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. Before being allowed to race again, RUN MOOCHI will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. When questioned regarding the performance of ADONIS, N Callan stated that as he was instructed to obtain a trailing position, he steadied his mount shortly after the start to allow SURE SUPREME to cross ADONIS. He said when he did this ADONIS got its head up on a number of occasions approaching and passing the 1200 Metres. He said however that after being crossed by SURE SUPREME, ADONIS settled better and he did not believe that the manner in which ADONIS raced during this part of the event provided a valid reason for the horse’s failure to finish off the race. He said rounding the Home Turn ADONIS came under heavy pressure and did not respond to his riding thereafter. He added ADONIS was particularly disappointing in the manner in which it gave ground in the Straight to finish at the rear of the field. The performance of ADONIS, a favoured runner for this race and which finished at the tail of the field, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, ADONIS will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. A veterinary inspection of ADONIS immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. After the race, an endoscopic examination was conducted on FLYING NOBLE at the request of Trainer C H Yip. The Veterinary Surgeon reported that this examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea. Before being allowed to race again, FLYING NOBLE will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. FLYING NOBLE, DIAMOND LEGEND and DARING HEART were sent for sampling.