06/12/2020  Shatin  Race 9

SKYEY SUPREME, which was leaning on the inside of its barrier, began only fairly and then lost ground when crowded for room between RIGHT CHOICE which shifted out after being bumped by PARTY EVERYDAY and PING HAI TREASURE which shifted out. BRIGHT KID shifted out at the start and bumped WISDOM PATCH. DEAL MAKER stumbled on jumping. From a wide barrier, THE HULK was steadied and shifted across behind runners in the early stages. BRIGHT KID was also steadied to obtain cover shortly after the start. Approaching the 600 Metres, WISDOM PATCH raced tight outside CLEAR CHOICE when taken wider by that horse which shifted to the outside of RIGHT CHOICE. After this, RIGHT CHOICE and CLEAR CHOICE raced tight. Approaching the 100 Metres, CLEAR CHOICE was inconvenienced by SKYEY SUPREME which shifted out away from the heels of PARTY EVERYDAY which hung out under pressure. Over the concluding stages, SKYEY SUPREME continued to be awkwardly placed outside the heels of PARTY EVERYDAY and consequently was not able to be ridden out all the way to the end of the race. Throughout the race, WORLD FAMOUS and PARTY EVERYDAY travelled wide and without cover. The performance of WORLD FAMOUS, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, WORLD FAMOUS 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 WORLD FAMOUS immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea. K C Leung (TURIN REDSTAR) was warned against the practice of striking his mount in the forehand manner forward of the saddle. After the race, K Teetan (PARTY EVERYDAY) reported that his mount hung out throughout the race. When questioned, Apprentice C L Chau stated that the manner in which he was to ride TOUCH OF LUCK was dependent on how TURIN REDSTAR was ridden in the early stages. He said he was told that if TOUCH OF LUCK began well and was able to cross TURIN REDSTAR, then he should do so, however, if the horse was not able to do so without having to be vigorously ridden along, he should either sit outside TURIN REDSTAR or obtain a trailing position behind that horse. He said TOUCH OF LUCK did not begin as well as TURIN REDSTAR and that horse held an advantage over his mount in the early stages. He said he commenced to shift across to race outside TURIN REDSTAR shortly after the start and passing the winning post on the first occasion he elected to steady his mount and obtain a trailing position behind that horse as TURIN REDSTAR was racing wide. He said he felt that had he remained racing to the outside of TURIN REDSTAR, TOUCH OF LUCK may have been required to cover unnecessary ground and therefore he believed that the best option was to obtain a trailing position behind TURIN REDSTAR and follow that horse. He added after shifting across behind TURIN REDSTAR after passing the winning post on the first occasion, he then had to ride his mount along as TOUCH OF LUCK was not showing as much early speed as he anticipated. He said these circumstances resulted in TOUCH OF LUCK racing back in the field today. Mr D J Whyte, trainer of TOUCH OF LUCK, confirmed the instructions given to Apprentice Chau. He said in the circumstances he would have preferred for TOUCH OF LUCK to maintain its position outside TURIN REDSTAR rather than being steadied behind that horse as this resulted in TOUCH OF LUCK getting too far out of its ground. A veterinary inspection of TOUCH OF LUCK immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of RIGHT CHOICE and DEAL MAKER immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. TURIN REDSTAR and PARTY EVERYDAY were sent for sampling.