28/10/2020  Happy Valley  Race 3

THE ELITES lifted its front feet off the ground as the start was effected and consequently was slow to begin. GINTOKI shifted out at the start and inconvenienced RUN THE TABLE. Shortly after the start, HOT CHILI PEPPER was bumped by LUCKY QUALITY which shifted in after making contact with BULLISH BROTHER. From the outside barriers, SUN SUN FA FA, ROSSE SCARPE and DESTINE JEWELLERY were all shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Near the 1150 Metres, BULLISH BROTHER and SUPER EIGHTEEN raced tight. After being ridden along in the early stages to obtain a forward position, SUPER EIGHTEEN was left racing very wide passing the 1000 Metres and then had to be ridden along for some distance to obtain a position outside the lead near the 700 Metres at which stage HOT CHILI PEPPER was left racing wide and without cover. Near the 850 Metres, GINTOKI and LUCKY QUALITY bumped. Making the turn after the 600 Metres, CARRY THE DIAMOND raced tight between HOT CHILI PEPPER and WHAT A LEGEND which made the Home Turn awkwardly. Approaching the 450 Metres, SUN SUN FA FA was steadied away from the heels of CARRY THE DIAMOND which was awkwardly placed behind LUCKY QUALITY. In the early part of the Straight, DESTINE JEWELLERY was shifted out a number of horses to obtain clear running. Near the 250 Metres, GINTOKI was disappointed for running between BULLISH BROTHER and SUPER EIGHTEEN. GINTOKI was then held up for clear running until approaching the 150 Metres. Passing the 250 Metres, WHAT A LEGEND raced in restricted room between LUCKY QUALITY and SUPER EIGHTEEN, both of which shifted ground. When racing tight, WHAT A LEGEND and LUCKY QUALITY made contact, resulting in both horses becoming unbalanced. After the race, Apprentice C L Chau (BULLISH BROTHER) stated that, in his opinion, the horse’s failure to finish off the race was due to the amount of use that he had to make of the horse for a considerable distance in the early stages to cross runners to his inside. He said he had to continually ride his mount along to clear LUCKY QUALITY and GINTOKI and it was not until approaching the 700 Metres that he was able to clear those horses. He said he tried to relax BULLISH BROTHER in the lead after this, however, the horse came under heavy pressure prior to the 200 Metres and then gave ground over the latter stages. A veterinary inspection of BULLISH BROTHER immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of GINTOKI immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. CARRY THE DIAMOND, WHAT A LEGEND and LUCKY QUALITY were sent for sampling.