22/01/2020  Happy Valley  Race 8

On arrival at the Start, C Y Ho expressed concern regarding the action of THIS IS CLASS. THIS IS CLASS was examined by the Veterinary Officer and found to be suitable to race. SPARKLING DRAGON began awkwardly. PRIVATE ROCKET shifted out at the start and bumped STARLIGHT which was crowded for room. BEAUTY SPARK began only fairly and then despite being ridden along for some distance in the early stages failed to muster speed. BEAUTY SPARK was then awkwardly placed close to the heels of MONKEY JEWELLERY near the 1100 Metres as that horse was steadied to obtain cover behind WINNING FEELING. JADE THEATRE shifted out at the start and bumped heavily with FLYING SWORD, causing both horses to become unbalanced and JADE THEATRE to lose ground. Despite being ridden along for some distance in the early stages, LE TERROIR failed to muster speed and subsequently travelled wide and without cover throughout the race. Near the 1000 Metres, BEAUTY SPARK shifted out towards the heels of PRIVATE ROCKET when reluctant to maintain its position inside that horse. This resulted in BEAUTY SPARK losing ground. STARLIGHT was shifted out away from the heels of BEAUTY SPARK in consequence and inconvenienced JADE THEATRE. MONKEY JEWELLERY shifted in towards the running rail passing the 600 Metres and became unbalanced. Making the turn after the 600 Metres, PRIVATE ROCKET lay out towards the heels of SPARKLING DRAGON. Approaching the 200 Metres, MONKEY JEWELLERY was momentarily awkwardly placed inside the heels of LARSON. MONKEY JEWELLERY then became unbalanced when crowded for room near the 100 Metres between BEAUTY SPARK which improved into tight running inside LARSON and PRIVATE ROCKET which raced tight outside WINNING FEELING. After the race, S de Sousa reported that after enjoying a good run behind the leaders, WINNING FEELING finished off the race satisfactorily until the concluding stages when the horse commenced to give ground. He said, in his opinion, WINNING FEELING lacks maturity at this stage of its career. A veterinary inspection of WINNING FEELING immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea. Before being allowed to race again, WINNING FEELING will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. When questioned, Z Purton was not able to offer any explanation for the disappointing performance of BALTIC SUCCESS. He said BALTIC SUCCESS was able to obtain a forward position from the outside barrier in the early stages without having to make too much use of the horse and after crossing into the lead after the 900 Metres then initially travelled well. He said he commenced to ride BALTIC SUCCESS along rounding the Home Turn, however, the horse did not quicken and came under immediate pressure. He said BALTIC SUCCESS commenced to give ground noticeably passing the 200 Metres and then weakened over the concluding stages. He added whilst BALTIC SUCCESS’ action deteriorated over the latter stages of the race, it did not appear to be lame and therefore he was not able to explain the disappointing performance of the horse. A veterinary inspection of BALTIC SUCCESS immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of BALTIC SUCCESS, which finished at the rear of the field, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, BALTIC SUCCESS 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 STARLIGHT immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of MONKEY JEWELLERY immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea. Before being allowed to race again, MONKEY JEWELLERY will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. WINNING FEELING, SPARKLING DRAGON and THIS IS CLASS were sent for sampling.