12/10/2019  Shatin  Race 5

KHAKI shifted out at the start and bumped SIMPLE ELEGANT, causing both horses to become unbalanced. KHAKI was then steadied to obtain cover. SUNSHINE UNIVERSE and HINYUEN SWIFTNESS bumped at the start. BREAK RECORD began awkwardly and then from a wide barrier was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Also from a wide barrier, GREAT SMART was steadied and shifted across behind runners in the early stages. SUNSHINE UNIVERSE lost its left hind plate after the 1000 Metres. Near the 950 Metres, GOLDEN FOUR was steadied away from the heels of CARE FREE PRINCE (C Y Ho) which shifted in when barely clear. C Y Ho was advised to ensure that he is properly clear when shifting ground in similar circumstances. Approaching the 900 Metres, MR MAGELLAN shifted out marginally away from the heels of SUNSHINE UNIVERSE when awkwardly placed behind that horse. When MR MAGELLAN shifted out, ABOVE, which was following, improved into tight running inside MR MAGELLAN. After briefly shifting out, MR MAGELLAN then shifted back in to assume its position behind SUNSHINE UNIVERSE which resulted in ABOVE being checked away from the heels of MR MAGELLAN passing the 900 Metres before shifting out away from the heels of that horse. The performance of GREAT SMART, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, GREAT SMART 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 GREAT SMART immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned, C Y Ho stated that CARE FREE PRINCE came under heavy pressure after the 800 Metres to maintain its position and then, despite being ridden along, would not hold its position. He said after riding CARE FREE PRINCE along rounding the Home Turn and in the early part of the Straight, it then gave ground noticeably after the 400 Metres. He said when losing ground, CARE FREE PRINCE did not feel comfortable in its action and for this reason he eased it down over the final 200 Metres and immediately after passing the winning post dismounted from CARE FREE PRINCE. He added whilst he was not able to detect any noticeable lameness, he felt that CARE FREE PRINCE may have been experiencing some internal issues as the horse did not travel well and then gave ground noticeably. A veterinary inspection of CARE FREE PRINCE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of CARE FREE PRINCE, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, CARE FREE PRINCE 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 his riding of HINYUEN SWIFTNESS after the 900 Metres, H N Wong stated that he anticipated GINTOKI would remain racing on the rail behind SIMPLE ELEGANT as the race was being run at a good tempo. He said as he commenced to improve to race outside GINTOKI approaching the 700 Metres, that horse shifted away from the rail which resulted in HINYUEN SWIFTNESS being taken three wide and without cover. He also added that HINYUEN SWIFTNESS got its head on the side and was inclined to lay out away from GINTOKI. He said he felt that as he was already positioned to the outside of GINTOKI, he was reluctant to steady HINYUEN SWIFTNESS at that time in an attempt to obtain a position back behind GINTOKI as the horse was travelling comfortably at this stage. H N Wong was advised that he had erred in allowing HINYUEN SWIFTNESS to remain racing outside of GINTOKI rather than steadying his mount and obtaining a position with cover behind that horse as remaining to the outside of GINTOKI resulted in HINYUEN SWIFTNESS covering unnecessary ground. He was further advised to ensure that he rides his mounts in such a manner that they are able to save ground wherever circumstances permit. After the race, an endoscopic examination was conducted on BREAK RECORD at the request of Trainer C S Shum. The Veterinary Surgeon reported that this examination showed a substantial amount of mucus in the horse's trachea. A veterinary inspection of SIMPLE ELEGANT immediately following the race found that horse to be lame in its left front leg. Before being allowed to race again, SIMPLE ELEGANT will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. RELENTLESS ME and GOLDEN FOUR were sent for sampling.