05/05/2021  Happy Valley  Race 4

BULLISH BROTHER began very awkwardly and then was bumped on the hindquarters by MOONLUCK which shifted out. After this, MOONLUCK was hampered by AMBITIOUS HEART which shifted out. MOONLUCK was then shifted across behind runners to obtain cover. STORMTROUPER got its head up on a number of occasions in the early stages when being steadied to obtain cover from a wide barrier. Then a short distance after the start, STORMTROUPER was bumped by BULLISH BROTHER which shifted out, resulting in STORMTROUPER bumping the hindquarters of PEAK TO PEAK. A short distance after the start, MELBOURNE HALL and RAGING BLAZE brushed. At the entrance to the Straight, AMBITIOUS HEART shifted out away from the heels of PEAK TO PEAK and bumped MOONLUCK. In the early part of the Straight, RAGING BLAZE lay in and proved reluctant to shift to the outside of WIN TECH. RAGING BLAZE was then shifted to the inside of WIN TECH approaching the 250 Metres and for some distance passing the 200 Metres raced tight inside that horse. Near the 250 Metres, AMBITIOUS HEART was shifted in away from the heels of PEAK TO PEAK. In the Straight, STORMTROUPER raced greenly and passing the 100 Metres, when commencing to close off the race strongly, shifted out towards the heels of INNO LEGEND. STORMTROUPER was then directed in away from the heels of INNO LEGEND and near the 50 Metres, after racing tight inside INNO LEGEND, shifted in abruptly away from that horse and bumped the hindquarters of WHISKEY NEAT which became unbalanced. STORMTROUPER then raced tight inside INNO LEGEND over the concluding stages. Because of these incidents, STORMTROUPER was not able to be properly tested. When questioned, M L Yeung (BULLISH BROTHER) stated that he was instructed to try and obtain a trailing position behind the leaders from barrier 9 in the early stages if possible. He said it was explained to him that BULLISH BROTHER’s most recent successes had been achieved when the horse had been able to obtain a trailing position with cover and it had not finished its races off when leading, therefore it was felt that it would be best to attempt to obtain a trailing position to provide BULLISH BROTHER with the opportunity to finish off its race tonight. He said after shifting across to a position closer to the rail approaching the 1000 Metres, BULLISH BROTHER was left racing wide and without cover and due to MELBOURNE HALL maintaining its position behind INNO LEGEND in the middle stages, this resulted in BULLISH BROTHER being left racing wide and without cover throughout. After the race, J Moreira stated that after beginning only fairly, PEAK TO PEAK, from a wide barrier, was required to race further back in the field than had been intended. He said when racing back in the field, PEAK TO PEAK appeared to lose interest in the race and was not able to put itself in a competitive position at any stage of the race. A veterinary inspection of PEAK TO PEAK immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. FORTUNE HERO and AMBITIOUS HEART were sent for sampling.