16/02/2020  Shatin  Race 6

On arrival at the barriers, BEAUTY RUSH, which bumped a rail on the way to the Start, was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said in his opinion it was suitable to race. PACKING JOY was slow to begin. PRIVATE ROCKET shifted out at the start and bumped THE DRIVE which in turn shifted out and bumped EMERALD SPUR which became unbalanced. From wide barriers, MONGOLIAN KING, COOL TEAM and EVERYONE’S JOY were all shifted across behind runners in the early stages. ALPHA HEDGE was also steadied in the early stages to obtain cover. After the 900 Metres, PERFECT GLORY and ULTIMATE GLORY were left racing wide and without cover. At the entrance to the Straight, MONGOLIAN KING was shifted to the inside of EMERALD SPUR to obtain clear running. Passing the 200 Metres, MONGOLIAN KING raced tight inside EMERALD SPUR (G van Niekerk) when improving into tight running between that horse and TAKE WHAT YOU NEED. When racing tight inside EMERALD SPUR, MONGOLIAN KING was struck across the nose by the whip of G van Niekerk. Over the concluding stages, TAKE WHAT YOU NEED raced tight inside MONGOLIAN KING. When questioned, M F Poon stated that he was instructed to take up a forward position on MR PICASSO from barrier 5 as it was felt that there was sufficient speed in the race for MR PICASSO to be able to be behind the speed. He said after beginning awkwardly, he rode MR PICASSO along in the early stages, however, EMERALD SPUR and THE DRIVE were able to maintain their position to his inside. He said when TAKE WHAT YOU NEED was ridden along to obtain a forward position in the early stages and showed more speed than MR PICASSO, he believed he would have had to ride MR PICASSO aggressively in an endeavour to obtain a forward position and, given that EMERALD SPUR was being ridden to maintain its position to the inside of MR PICASSO in the early stages, he felt that it was likely MR PICASSO would be left racing wide and possibly without cover and therefore he elected to shift his mount across behind EMERALD SPUR and THE DRIVE passing the 1300 Metres to obtain cover. He said passing the 1100 Metres MR PICASSO travelled keenly and was awkwardly placed behind THE DRIVE. He added MR PICASSO again commenced to travel keenly and had to be checked away from the heels of THE DRIVE passing the 800 Metres when racing much further back in the field than had been intended. A veterinary inspection of PACKING JOY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. BEAUTY RUSH and MONGOLIAN KING were sent for sampling.