22/04/2020  Happy Valley  Race 2

FOR FUN’S SAKE was crowded for room on jumping between SPEEDY LUCK and BLADE RACER which got its head on the side and shifted out. Shortly after the start, HAPPY WINNER and STARLIGHT bumped. GREEN ENVY began awkwardly, shifted in and bumped the hindquarters of OVERSUBSCRIBED which became unbalanced. This resulted in GREEN ENVY losing ground and then from a wide barrier being shifted across behind runners in the early stages. From the outside barrier, MASTER ALBERT was also steadied and shifted across behind runners in the early stages. From a wide barrier, HAPPY TANGO was steadied shortly after the start to obtain cover. Making the first turn after the 1100 Metres, SPEEDY LUCK was awkwardly placed outside the heels of BLADE RACER which got its head on the side and lay out. BLADE RACER continued to lay out throughout the race. Approaching and passing the 1000 Metres, GINTOKI got its head up and proved very difficult to settle when being steadied to race outside the lead. Passing the 900 Metres, SPEEDY LUCK commenced to travel keenly and was awkwardly placed close to the heels of BLADE RACER. Passing the 650 Metres, PRECIOUS SWEETIE got its head on the side and shifted in abruptly of its own accord across the heels of STARLIGHT, causing PRECIOUS SWEETIE to be checked and lose ground. FOR FUN’S SAKE, which was following, was severely checked away from the heels of PRECIOUS SWEETIE and shifting out abruptly, resulting in MASTER ALBERT being severely hampered and taken wider and GREEN ENVY, which was following MASTER ALBERT, also being badly hampered and being forced wide making the turn after the 600 Metres. After the race, the Veterinary Officer reported that STARLIGHT had been galloped on the left hind leg. STARLIGHT lost its left hind plate at the 550 Metres. In the early part of the Straight, GREEN ENVY lay in. Passing the 300 Metres, SPEEDY LUCK was shifted to the inside of OVERSUBSCRIBED to obtain clear running. After the 200 Metres, HAPPY WINNER was shifted out away from the heels of GINTOKI to obtain clear running. For some distance after the 150 Metres, STARLIGHT had difficulty obtaining clear running. When questioned regarding the performance of OVERSUBSCRIBED, M F Poon stated that after beginning positively on OVERSUBSCRIBED, he attempted to shift in behind GINTOKI to obtain cover behind that horse approaching the 1000 Metres. He said as he did this GINTOKI was steadied which resulted in HAPPY WINNER being able to improve its position to be racing behind GINTOKI which resulted in OVERSUBSCRIBED having to race three wide and without cover after the 1000 Metres. He said rather than race unnecessarily wide he allowed OVERSUBSCRIBED to improve its position after the 800 Metres to cross GINTOKI near the 600 Metres and raced one horse off the rail outside the leader BLADE RACER. He said because of the circumstances of the race in that after attempting to restrain his mount near the 1000 Metres and then having to ride it along after the 800 Metres to obtain a more forward position, this resulted in OVERSUBSCRIBED not being able to finish off the race. He added although OVERSUBSCRIBED finished at the rear of the field, it was not beaten by a significant margin and therefore, in his view, the run was better than it appeared on face value. A veterinary inspection of OVERSUBSCRIBED immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of BLADE RACER immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. After the race, the Veterinary Officer reported that SPEEDY LUCK had bled from both nostrils. As this was the second occasion in the last three starts that SPEEDY LUCK had been reported to have bled, the Stewards referred the matter to the Department of Veterinary Regulation, Welfare and Biosecurity Policy for review, however, the normal restrictions applicable to a horse in these circumstances will apply OVERSUBSCRIBED, HERO TIME and HAPPY TANGO were sent for sampling.