13/01/2021  Happy Valley  Race 8

INCANTO PREPARED, which made contact with a rail when exiting the Parade Ring, was examined by the Veterinary Officer upon arrival at the barriers and passed fit to start. DELIGHTFUL LAOS was very slow to begin. HANG’S DECISION and PRECISE EXPRESS bumped at the start. From wide barriers, SURREALISM and NOBLE STEED were shifted across behind runners in the early stages. After the 1200 Metres, PRECISE EXPRESS got its head up and lost ground when reluctant to proceed up inside the heels of HANG’S DECISION. In this incident, PRECISE EXPRESS shifted out, resulting in NAMJONG PLUS being momentarily crowded onto the hindquarters of INCANTO PREPARED which became unbalanced. Passing the 900 Metres, PRECISE EXPRESS was momentarily awkwardly placed inside HANG’S DECISION which was racing tight inside CABLE SPEED. BLAZING BEAT was shifted out and allowed to improve around runners after the 800 Metres, however, was forced to race wide and without cover. Approaching the 400 Metres, HANG’S DECISION got its head on the side, shifted out and raced tight with NOBLE STEED. As a consequence, HANG’S DECISION became unbalanced and lost ground. Rounding the Home Turn, PRECISE EXPRESS was awkwardly placed behind LEGION OF MERIT which came under pressure. When questioned, Z Purton stated that both he and Trainer C S Shum assessed that there was not a lot of speed in the race and whilst it would have been preferred to have ridden ANGEL OF MY EYES a little more conservatively tonight, from barrier 8, they felt it was necessary to ride the horse along in the early stages to clear runners to its inside, find a position closer to the rail and then have the horse travel comfortably without being pressured. He said after assuming the lead at the 1400 Metres, ANGEL OF MY EYES travelled kindly and he was able to control the race at a reasonable tempo throughout the early and middle stages. He said the manner in which ANGEL OF MY EYES travelled through the middle stages gave him reason to expect that it would finish off the race well, however, it immediately came off the bridle when challenged by SMILING CITY at the 500 Metres and commenced to give ground. He said despite being hard ridden rounding the Home Turn, ANGEL OF MY EYES continued to give ground and felt very awkward in its action, therefore he eased it down over the latter stages of the race. He added that ANGEL OF MY EYES had performed very disappointingly on consecutive occasions and he had suggested to connections that the horse may need a break. Mr Shum confirmed the evidence given by Jockey Purton in respect of the tactics employed on ANGEL OF MY EYES. He said whilst they would have preferred to have found a position with cover behind the speed, the circumstances of the race did not allow this. He confirmed that he would now give ANGEL OF MY EYES a freshen-up. A veterinary inspection of ANGEL OF MY EYES immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucus in the horse’s trachea. The performance of ANGEL OF MY EYES, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, ANGEL OF MY EYES will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. SMILING CITY and DELIGHTFUL LAOS were sent for sampling.